Welcome to the Grimm Office
by BlackStar42Roses
Summary: Enter London, England, where the streets are dark and those who rid the city of demons are even darker. Reborn is a powerful private investigator who runs the mysterious Grimm Office, but why does he fear working with others with abilities like him? R27
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to The Grimm Office

R27

Apparently I just couldn't sit still for long. After writing my most recent 8018 fic I had a lot of time to catch up on my other ideas, and I was planning to start one of my older stories and finish a couple of oneshots when I had this random brainwave in school again. Ever heard of the Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tale Collection? I absolutely adore them. If you don't know what they are, look it up. I guarantee you'll never see any of the classic stories like Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella the same way ever again. The 'real' story behind those fairy tales aren't stuff you see in Disney, haha.

This is my first R27, which is one of my favourite pairings. I'm not sure why I haven't written anything about them yet, so here's a series for that! I have yet to decide about other pairings in this story, so bear with me guys :'D This is the first time in a while I'm writing out of my own original idea, not along the plot of a movie like _One Summer's Day_ and _Thieves and Beggars_. Speaking of _Thieves and Beggars_, I'm making a small oneshot sometime later on about Reborn's past. Real short and sweet. If you're interested, keep an eye out, I suppose xD

So! Welcome to the first chapter of _The Grimm Office_. I ranted too much again, I know. But I'm always lost when I first start a series, kora! Please don't mind me!

**In other news:** Happy birthday, Emily! Even though you're nine and shouldn't be reading anything I write :'3 Enjoy your big day!

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

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><p>London, it seems, was a quiet city during this time of the year. Perhaps it was still too early in the winter for its citizens to be interested in the holiday cheer, or maybe it was an oddly chilly year, there was hardly any cheer in the fog swamped, grey city. The air was more than often thick with dark clouds that hung low and smoke pumping into the sky from the factories near the outskirts of the swarming city. In any case, the atmosphere was rather downtrodden.<p>

Everybody was miserable and dreary, but their predicament was almost nothing compared to the setting of a strange little office located in a small alley right off the busiest road in the city. It was completely insignificant compared to the exquisite Victorian-styled bakery and printing office it was squashed inbetween, almost blending into the rusty coloured bricks of the walls in the cramped backstreet. The door was grimy and smeared with dust, the glass pane cracked and taped back together. A sign hanging over the doorway swung eerily in the gloom, rusted at the edges and painted black. Faded yellow words read simply: _The Grimm Office_.

The interior was as dark and grimy as it was outside. The lowest floor was completely dark and empty. The reception desk at the front had a thick layer of dust on it, and the painting was curling in its frame on the wall behind it. A set of stairs at the back of the room were lit up by a yellowed light bulb, glowing all by its lonesome on the ceiling. The set of creaky wooden stairs let up to yet another frosted glass door, though this time, there were words imprinted on the top pane.

The office was ridiculously small and _ridiculously_ messy. Seven bookshelves lined the wall, hiding the spotted wallpaper with shelves upon shelves of thick volumes bound in leather and other materials. Upon closer inspection, one would realize that this bureau was not very normal at all. Pictures that hung on the walls were not cheap versions of Picasso or some Impressionist, but rather detailed sketches of goblins, dwarves, and trolls. A large frame made of mahogany contained a map filled with little flags labeling places such as "Werewolf territory", "Zombie Infested Grounds" and "Haunted Buildings". Weapons of all sorts were displayed and mounted on the remaining space on the walls, going from primitive crossbows and swords to long rifles and heavily customized shotguns. There were several tables, one located under the unwashed window, and two other placed facing one another, leaving a small sliver of space between the two chipped wood surfaces. All three tables were completely overflowing with papers, folders, open books and dirty plates with remains of food stuck on the porcelain. One of the two tables away from the window had a nameplate placed at the corner, reading _Yamamoto Takeshi, Assistant_. It was empty. On the other table, balanced precariously upon a pile of tottering delivery boxes was a similar plaque with the name _Reborn, Private Investigator_ inscribed upon the black surface in yellow.

At the moment, the said man was slumped at the table…

…asleep.

Reborn inhaled and exhaled slowly, snoring quietly with his cheek resting on a pile of documents that were being unceremoniously being used as an impromptu pillow. His black hair stuck up in all directions, curly sideburns contrasting against a smooth, pale face. He had a long nose; thick eyelashes and a small frown on his mouth even as he slept. He was wearing a nice black dress shirt with dark pants and had a yellow tie hanging loosely from his collar. Strapped across his chest was a leather holster holding a customized silver gun.

Somewhere outside, the wind rattled the windows and overturned garbage cans, but Reborn slept on like the dead. That is, until the door to the office suddenly crashed open, startling the dark-haired man, who leapt up and went for his gun at once, pointing it at a massive shape hovering in the doorway of the dimly lit office.

"Whoa, don't shoot, Reborn, it's just me!"

Reborn squinted, his head throbbing unpleasantly. He was considering shooting the lump that addressed him anyway, mainly because the guy knew his name and woke him up from a really good sleep. However, the man tugged his scarf down and held up his one free hand defensively.

"Damn it, Reborn, don't shoot your own partner!"

"Shut up, Yamamoto," Reborn growled, actually firing off two shots that made the other cringe and duck, dropping a large paper bag as he took cover from the two bullets that embedded themselves into the wall behind him.

"Jesus! Don't actually fire your damn gun!" Yamamoto cussed, glaring. "I brought lunch, and this is how you pay me back?"

"You're wasting money," Reborn said at once, but he stepped around his desk to retrieve the brown sack. "Where did you go?"

"To Luce's café," Yamamoto grumbled, tugging his coat off, dropping the limp mass into his chair and sinking into it, heaving a tired sigh. "She was kind enough to give me a discount on the meal again. But thanks to you, your espresso might have spilled."

"If it did, I'll really shoot you," Reborn said mildly, searching through the contents to reveal two cold sandwiches, two packs of cigarettes and a leaky thermos containing Reborn's reverend caffeinated drink and a bottle of milk for Yamamoto. Reborn retrieved his lunch, walked back to his desk, lifted a long leg, slammed his heel down on his workspace and swept everything down onto the floor in a swift movement before leaning back smoothly to sit in his chair, taking a long drink from his thermos as he did. Yamamoto groaned in annoyance as ink bottles smashed and papers flew everywhere. Only Reborn could make a mess and still look graceful while doing so.

"Stop kicking things off your table."

"Don't barge in without knocking."

"I work here, Reborn," Yamamoto said irritably, taking out his own sandwich and biting in hungrily.

"I own this office," the other replied smugly between bites. Reborn never talked with his mouth full. It was just one of the small traits the elder had. It was like he was raised in a high-class household or something.

"You sleep on the job," Yamamoto accused. Reborn scowled at that.

"It's not like anybody needs help right now. Business is slower than ever."

"You could say that again," Yamamoto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "When do you think we'll get something good other than a common house ghoul or a graveyard spirit?"

Reborn 'tsked' loudly, taking a huge bite out of his ham and Swiss sandwich. "We are _not_ a low class business," he snapped. "We work with class, so therefore we exterminate ."

"Can't survive on _class_, Reborn," Yamamoto said dryly. "But don't worry. I've checked around the locals before I came back; there hasn't even been low scum in the streets. It's like the entire city is deserted."

Reborn snorted. "Thanks for the obvious."

Yamamoto shifted himself into a more comfortable position. "Two years ago, this place was running along fine," he said quietly. "Where's all the business gone?"

"Maybe some over-zealous priest chased everything out," Reborn said, uncaring.

"What's the point of this place then if a simple priest can exorcise everything that'll make London fall?" Yamamoto asked irritably. Reborn just shrugged, directing his gaze out the window.

"The point of us being here," he said calmly, "Is so that London _won't_ fall when nobody can save it."

Yamamoto huffed, but didn't reply. The Grimm Office was indeed nothing like a priest. It was only the two dark-haired males running the little business, but they've had an unbeatable record in their field. And what exactly did The Grimm Office do?

Demon hunting.

It was not uncommon for mankind and the supernatural to cross paths in a busy place, such as London. From ghouls that mess around with piping in the attic to deadly monsters that prowl through the streets at night consuming unsuspecting souls, they all fell under the area of Reborn's services. He and Yamamoto were trained to destroy anything that caused mayhem, yet, they had run into a rather large problem lately.

The city was completely void of demons.

At the beginning of spring two years ago, the population had suddenly dropped, resulting in a huge loss of business as people began to lead much more peaceful lives. But for the two men, they knew that the temporary peace was not something to celebrate about, partly because they were nearly bankrupt now. Other reason?

Demons do not simply vanish like so. Now all of Reborn and Yamamoto's time was dedicated to researching why everything was gone. On a good night two years back, they could actually hear a witch cackling as she soared into the night sky. Now, one couldn't even get the faucet to drip noisily in the bathroom.

Yamamoto sighed and brushed crumbs off his lap. "It's almost 4 pm. Is there anything you need?"

"Nope," Reborn said, still staring out the window. "Go home if you want."

"Thanks, then," Yamamoto replied, standing up to pull on his coat. He grabbed an old rucksack and shoved his notes and books into the roughed up bag. The younger of the two exited the office, closing the metal door behind him with a shaky bang.

The espresso was cooling in the thermos already. Reborn cracked his neck and stretched his shoulders, releasing the tension in his spine before walking into the washroom in the back to wash up. However, before he could do so, Reborn's foot stepped on something on the floor that made a loud _crunch_.

Groaning, the dark-haired man pushed aside the papers covering the object that had broken under his weight. He didn't really feel like cleaning up, but if Yamamoto came in and found whatever it was he stepped on he'd get an earful from the guy. The man was just so used to shouting at his roommate for leaving his stuff around, the habit had carried on to work. When he'd cleared up his scattered documents from the floor, light finally fell upon what became victim to Reborn's shoe.

It was a picture frame. The glass now had cracks that snaked outwards like haphazard spider webs, but the plain silver frame was luckily intact. Tucked away behind the broken glass was a picture of three men standing outside, dressed in coats with scarves wrapped around their necks, cigarettes dangling tantalizingly from their lips. Reborn stiffened as he picked up the frame gingerly, realizing what he was holding.

One of the males in the photo was him, nearly six years ago, looking about the same but with slightly longer hair. He was standing next to a young blonde man with sky blue eyes and gravity defying hair and a grinning redhead. All of them were smoking as snow fell around them, their breaths coming up in little puffs of mist, mingling with the fumes from the cigarettes. Reborn's chest clenched uncomfortably as he stared down at the two faces he hadn't seen for years already. Flipping the frame upside down, the dark-haired man smashed the cracked glass onto the corner of his desk, breaking everything off. Reborn slipped the photo out and tucked it into the inner pocket of his coat without looking at the image. He wasn't eager to leave it behind on the desk or anything either, but it felt wrong to have that picture so close to his heart.

Reborn tossed the useless frame into the overflowing garbage bin and picked up his bag as well, stepping over piles of paper on the ground to walk out the door. He didn't feel like doing work after finding that. Locking up the office and exiting the entire building altogether, the dark-haired man ripped open the new pack of cigarettes and lit it up with a match, feeling the portion of his coat holding the picture feeling oddly stiff against his chest.

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><p>Yamamoto sighed and trudged up the metal stairs up the side of the building to his flat, tripping a little because of the obscuring fog that hung so low that even the third floor patio was covered in a blanket of wetness. He dug through his bag for his keys, inserting it into the rusted keyhole. With a click, he turned the key and pushed open the door, walking into his shared apartment.<p>

"I'm back," Yamamoto called out tiredly, dropping his bag on the floor and locking the door.

There was no reply. Yamamoto glanced up, toeing his shoes off and slipping quietly into the deserted flat. It was small and cramped, just like the Grimm Office, but definitely homier. The narrow hallway branched off into several different rooms; the sitting area with a single couch, coffee table and a bookshelf, two rooms with closed doors, a bathroom and a kitchen joined with the den, where a fold-up table was pushed against the wall and two stools were placed side by side next to the counter. Yamamoto walked cautiously in, looking around for his roommate. Was the guy asleep?

"Hello? Are you up?" Yamamoto addressed the silence again, frowning. "Byaku—"

Out of nowhere, a huge shape went flying out from behind the sofa in the sitting area and tackled him. On instinct, Yamamoto threw himself against the wall to avoid a direct hit, sticking his leg out so that the shape tripped and unceremoniously collapsed into the kitchen with a yelp of pain. Yamamoto pounced at once, grabbing a handful of spikey white hair and yanking backwards.

"What the—"

"Ouch~! You're so mean, Takeshi!"

Yamamoto stared at the figure lying on the kitchen floor below him. It was a tall man with strange white hair and a slim, pointed face, grinning like a smug child up towards the dark-haired hunter. He had glowing purple irises and a tattoo under his left eye. Yamamoto growled and let go at once. This man was his freaking _roommate_.

"Byakuran, I told you not to scare me like that when I come home!"

"But I like your shocked face, Takeshi!" Byakuran pouted, sitting up and massaging his scalp. "You always punch me though, what's with that?"

"If you stop leaping out like a burglar or something, maybe you won't get your nose punched in," Yamamoto replied smoothly, watching Byakuran stand. The white-haired man was taller than he was upright, and suddenly, the hallway was immediately too cramped. Yamamoto sighed and started to walk towards the den, shrugging his jacket off, but he hadn't walked two steps before Byakuran grabbed him by the crook of his arm, spun the protesting man around and pulled him into a tight hug, their lips meeting halfway.

Yamamoto struggled halfheartedly as Byakuran's arms held him close, lips moving softly and sweetly against his own. It was so soothing that he almost fell into the comfortable embrace, but after a moment of senselessness, Yamamoto forced himself to push the taller away and stammer, "S-stop that."

"But why?" Byakuran whispered; close enough that he needn't raise his voice for Yamamoto to hear him. The dark-haired man made an exasperated noise in his throat.

"I'm not—this isn't the best choice," he retorted lamely. Byakuran's purple eyes seemed to pierce through chocolate brown ones.

"Takeshi, I promised you long ago; I wouldn't love anyone but you. Won't you please give me a chance?"

"And I've told _you_," Yamamoto said forcefully, pushing Byakuran away from him, "That there's no way we can be together, so please don't continue this."

"Takeshi—"

But Yamamoto had already walked over to his own bedroom, closing the door with a snap behind him. The dark-haired male exhaled heavily, surveying his room. It was small, just like everything else, with an iron-frame bed, simple white sheets with a squashy pillow, a desk, books stacked on the table and floor and a long, Japanese katana leaning against the wall. Yamamoto added his bag to the pile of accumulating mess on the ground and pulled his shirt off. It was a tiring day. With business going so slowly and Byakuran refusing to back down…even his brain was exhausted now.

Yamamoto changed into comfortable pants and a sweater, flopping onto his bed without even pulling his blanket over him. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, his roommate's face filled his mind. Groaning, Yamamoto rolled over to muffle his face into the pillow. He couldn't stand it. The kisses, hugs, gentle ruffles of his hair and the beaming smiles…everything for him make the younger of the two drown in guilt.

He didn't want to push Byakuran away like this. He adored the older man and his humor, creative personality and optimistic way of life. He was the only upbeat part of Yamamoto's otherwise sluggish lifestyle. But his job was far too dangerous for his friend to become involved in. No matter what, Yamamoto knew he couldn't involve his admirer…

…lest the person he loved most disappear from him forever.

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><p>Down in the sparsely populated streets, a young boy was stumbling along, clutching his bag and suitcase to himself. He wasn't dressed very well for the cold weather, wearing only a wool sweater and a raincoat with dark pants, flat shoes and a thin scarf. On his hands were two mittens that looked as though they were hand-knitted. He had gravity defying brown hair that stuck up in every direction and dark brown eyes. A side bag bounced against his back as walked, suitcase in one hand and a small slip of paper in the other. Every now and then he'd approach a pedestrian, showing them something that was written on the paper. However, all he often got were shaking heads and shrugs of the shoulders. Looking worried, the boy stumbled along, peering at all the stores along the road.<p>

He was young, perhaps only sixteen or seventeen. The streets were getting dark, and dangers were on the prowl. Unknown to the brunette, about four burly-looking men were already following him as he walked down the street, looking lost and confused. The men stopped when they saw the boy pause to address a lady wearing a white dress and coat bringing tables back into a café as they closed down for the day.

"Excuse me, miss, but do you know where this agency is?" the brunette asked the young woman who was currently folding up tables to bring into a shop named _Luce's Café_. Luce brushed her black hair out of her face and looked down at the slip of paper.

"Oh! I know where that is. Just head down the street and turn left when you see the Kawahira Bakery. Are you lost?" she added, looking at the teen up and down. The brunette laughed softly, nodding. "I needed to look for these gentlemen, but I'm not familiar with the area. Thank you for your help, miss." He turned to go, but Luce's voice stopped him.

"Now just a minute! You don't know the weather here, do you?" she scolded, looking down at the flimsy sweater. "I'll get you some of my nephew's old things. It's a nice woolen coat, it'll keep you warm in the winter."

"Ah, thank you," the brunette said, looking surprised. "That's kind of you!"

"Don't worry about it," Luce smiled. "Wait for me here."

The brunette watched as the young woman walked back into her shop, wind ruffling his hair. He stepped away from the café and glanced down the street. Where was Kawahira Bakery?

"Hey, boy."

The brunette turned. The four beefy men had walked up to him the moment Luce had disappeared back into her shop, grinning down at the slim boy.

"What is it?" the brunette asked slowly, staring up at the group. The tallest man with a thick moustache reached out and grabbed the teen's collar.

"Come with us, lil' boy," he sneered, flicking a knife out from his coat. "We're gonna have a little chat in the alley, hmm?"

The other males snickered, huddling together as the moustache man dragged the brunette into the shadows, quickly following when they were sure nobody saw them. The brunette was thrown against the wall, his suitcase falling to the ground with a _clunk_.

"Be good now," moustache grinned, "and you might get away with a finger or two."

The other men roared with laughter, taking out daggers, metal rods and even a pistol. They inched closer to the brunette standing flushed against the wall, completely trapped. There was no way out. Moustache grabbed the teen's hand, yanking at the knitted mitten.

"Gotcha," he jeered, jerking his knife up to the brunette's slim throat. There was a moment where the other thieves crowded in, all clambering for the fun of looting and pillage.

But then, the soft brown eyes suddenly glowed like a blazing orange fire…and in an instant, he was upon them.

Luce was walking back outside when she heard the gunshot. Jumping, the young woman ran out at once, looking for the boy who was standing outside.

"Hello?" she called out into the fog. "Hello? Sir? Are you still here?"

There was no response. Then, a moment later, a shape emerged from the darkening mist hanging over the cobblestone street. It was the brunette, looking concerned.

"Miss, you're here? Didn't you hear the gunshot earlier?"

"I did!" Luce said urgently. "It's getting dangerous in these areas; perhaps you should come inside for now."

"Oh, no, I wouldn't worry about that," the brunette said meekly, scratching his neck. "I'm sure it was just a blank. Probably an empty threat, whoever fired it. The pistol was just to scare someone."

"Huh?" Luce asked, confused. The brunette laughed again and said, "It's alright, miss. I was just taking a look down the street, and I saw Kawahira Bakery, like you said. Thanks for your help."

"I see…" Luce said, not entirely convinced. "Well, here's the coat! It should fit you." She leaned down and wrapped the warm blue jacket around the brunette, doing up the first two buttons for him.

"Thank you very much," the brunette said, smiling. "I'll be going now. Thank you again!"

Luce waved as the mysterious teen walked off, his suitcase bouncing against his leg. Peering nervously around the empty street, Luce was about to turn around and head back into the café when she noticed something strange on the cobblestone. There was a small smudge on the stone where the brunette had been standing a moment ago. Luce blinked, staring down. The smudge was dark, but it looked rather red. Shrugging, the young woman turned and flipped the close sign over her window.

The streets were full of strange things. Who was she to judge a strange red stain on the ground?

He continued to walk down the street, past the alley he'd been in moments ago, past the various shops that had already closed down for the night, and finally, located Kawahira's Bakery. Between the shop and an old printing office was a cramped alley as well. He slipped in, walking a few feet before coming to a stop next to a grimy door smeared with dust; its glass panes cracked and held rather unsecurely together by tape. A sign hanging over the doorway swung eerily in the gloom, rusted at the edges and painted black. Though it was hard to see in the night, faded yellow words on the sign were the same words as the ones scrawled on the slip of paper in the teens' mittens.

He turned the paper over, frowning when he saw that he got a smudge of red on the back as well. He wiped his mitts on the brick wall, sighing. He couldn't help it; he had always been messy when it came to humans. But then again, humans weren't the same as monsters…and he wasn't exactly the best judge of strength.

The brunette looked up and exhaled. He'd made it. Now all he had to do was wait for The Grimm Office to open up tomorrow…and meet this "Reborn" person his brother so desperately wanted him to see.

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><p>End of Chapter One~ What do you guys think? I've got lots of ideas for this series, and hopefully I can include them all.<p>

**Also**: so, I'm unsure which pairings to place in this story…so, and suggestions, requests? :D I'll do my best if you guys are interested in anything~ promise!

Thank you for reading! Please look forward to Chapter Two :'D I swear it won't be a long time before I update. Comments re much appreciated!

-BlackStar


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome to The Grimm Office

Chapter Two~! :'D I'm dead exhausted; I've been sleeping late and getting up early for sports events. I think I'm going to fall down and perhaps melt into the floor. Ugh. I should also be working on my Reborn oneshot…but. Arrrgh, better yet, I should be studying! Maa, maa…I think I'm failing school D;

Must…work…harder…!

But here we are, Chapter Two. Thank you to those of you who reviewed Chapter One! I'm pumped for this series now :'D

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter Two<p>

When Reborn woke up, it was still dark, and he was so tired he couldn't tell if it was so early in the morning that the sun hadn't come up yet or if he just jolted awake after the five minute nap routine he'd conditioned himself to do in the office. Rolling off his sagging couch and landing with an unceremonious _thump_ on the rug, the dark-haired man dragged himself across sheets of paper spread out all over the floor of his living room and into the kitchen. His apartment was, like his office and Yamamoto's place, small, dingy and stuffed full of work materials. Using a lonely stool in the corner to help drag himself upright, Reborn fumbled for the light switch, wincing when the kitchen was flooded with a dull yellow glow.

The apartment had only three parts to it; the bathroom, kitchen, and living room that doubled as a bedroom. They were all connected by a hall with the front door on the other end. The already short stretch of space between the door and the opposite end of Reborn's apartment was filled with boxes, cartons of old maps and had two double-barreled shotguns leaning against the shoe rack. The kitchen was no cleaner than Reborn's office space; the table had been obscured with tottering piles of ancient books with labels such as _The Encyclopedia of the Night_ and_ Creatures of the Dark_. A laundry basket was shoved into the corner with a dried up potted plant, several bags of pasta were stacked up on the counter with two pots sitting on the stove. Bowls were stacked into wobbly towers in the sink. The living room was virtually buried in more paper, with photos, maps and small newspaper clippings tacked up on the walls. In the utter chaos, there were only parts of Reborn's apartment that had been spared: the couch, where he slept, and an upright piano that sat still and silently in the corner under a dusty coverlet.

The clock on the wall, which was always set five minutes ahead of time, read 4:39. Reborn groaned and passed a hand over his face. It was definitely not the 4 pm in the afternoon given the inky blackness on the other side of his windows, so he'd woken up early for practically no reason at all. And now, Reborn couldn't go back to sleep.

He staggered back into the living room, grabbing the papers he needed for the day and sliding them into thick envelopes before shoving everything into his bag. There was time, so Reborn figured he ought to start cleaning up his flat before he drowned in his own work. But after ten minutes or so shuffling his things about, he gave up, deciding that he'd probably end up forgetting where he left his stuff and get mad. That led him to walk back into the kitchen, filling the pot with water and dumping a handful of dried pasta into the pot for breakfast. Wandering back onto the couch to wait for his meal, the hunter passed a hand over his face, actually feeling the bags under his eyes.

This was life.

…Not exactly the most pleasing thing in the world.

When was he going to find a meaning to his existence?

Reborn wasn't sure how long it was before the pot started boiling over, so he ran back into the kitchen to grab his breakfast. By the time he finished the bland, soggy pasta, it was around six in the morning, and time to go to work. Dressing in his usual shirt, pants and tie, the dark-haired man strapped his gun to his side and pulled on his coat, scooping up his bag as he passed the living room and opening up his door.

The air was crisp and fresh outside, with the first traces of the fog starting to hang about. Reborn grabbed his fedora and shut his door with a snap, walking out of the alleyway and onto one of the main roads. Even his home was shut away in some backstreet like his office. Work just never seemed to let him go.

The walk to the Grimm Office was dull and quiet, like usual. In the early hour, the roads were even more deserted than ever, so Reborn's footsteps echoed on the cobblestones as he walked, clicking with a purpose and direction. When he walked past Kawahira Bakery and ducked into the alley between the shop and the Cavallone Press, Reborn was pulling already out his keys, yawning, prepared for another dull, pointless day of research.

That is, until he stepped on a body.

With a yelp, a teenager who'd been lying on the floor jumped to his feet, holding his hands up defensively. In the early morning haze, Reborn's brain was so slow that he didn't even think to shout in surprise, and his inky black eyes only registered two things that made his heart freeze in his chest: wide, brown eyes, dark brown hair, and then a familiar pointed chin, high cheekbones and the same damned expression as _him_.

Reborn acted on instinct. His gun was in his hand before he knew it, and it was pointed right at the brunette's face. There was a split second where the teen's eyes widened with shock, but a second later, they were instantly glowing orange as the brunette flung himself backwards into an arch, the multiple bullets Reborn shot at him just missing his head. The brunette snapped upright immediately and punched Reborn so hard the man swore his ribs cracked at the single impact. Reeling back, coughing, the dark-haired man's vision swam as he stared at the weird kid in a wool coat and strange, industrial-like gloves glare at him with the promise of death.

_A demon!_ His mind screamed. _It's him! It's a demon!_

He barely had time to contradict his own thoughts as he ducked, the kid's fist just grazing past his head and smashed into the wall, shattering the bricks. Reborn jutted his elbow out, catching the brunette in the ribs and sent him flying backwards. But his opponent obviously had excellent reflexes, because he was back up on his feet in less than a second and was charging Reborn down again. The dark-haired man took aim and fired of several shots. The brunette flashed from side to side, just barely dodging the bullets that came hurtling his way. Reborn cussed and jumped to the side. Orange eyes snapped back onto him like magnets searching out its pair, and before he knew it, the kid's glove was on his throat, pushing Reborn up the wall.

Furious, the hunter drove his knee into the brunette's rib, making him grunt in pain, but the hand did not remove itself from Reborn's neck. The other glove drew back in what looked like a punch, but the fingers were splayed wide open, almost as though he was going to grab Reborn's head and smash it flat against the wall behind the dark-haired man.

Reborn's heart pounded madly in his chest. _Shit_.

And then, a huge shape wearing a burly coat went flying out of nowhere and tackled the brunette, knocking him off Reborn. The two lumps crashed onto the floor and slid several feet from the intensity of the attack. Reborn staggered back upright and finally caught sight of Yamamoto's messy black hair sticking up in the mass of coats and limbs. So his assistant saved him.

How infuriating.

Yamamoto had pinned the kid down, his free hand holding the sword to the brunette's throat.

"Hold up now, mate," Yamamoto panted heavily. "Who're you and what have you got against my friend?"

"He attacked me first!" the brunette cried out defensively from the ground. Yamamoto raised an eyebrow and looked back at Reborn.

"Did you really?" he asked incredulously. Reborn glared at once, clenching his fists.

"He came out of nowhere!" Reborn defended angrily. "He was sleeping on the ground in front of the office!"

"I needed to find someone here!" the kid on the ground shouted. The two hunters looked down at the brunette, who was actually pouting, with his arms crossed over his chest. Reborn blinked. The teen's eyes were no longer a blazing orange haze, but a normal chocolate-coloured brown. On his hands were two funny looking hand-knitted mittens. The gloves that had nearly killed him moments ago were nowhere to be seen.

What the hell?

"Say, who do you need to see here at the Grimm Office?" Yamamoto asked, lending the kid a hand. The brunette accepted the offer graciously, getting back up on his feet and brushing dirt of his coat.

"Oi!" Reborn snapped. "Don't get so friendly with him!"

Yamamoto raised an eyebrow at Reborn and the kid looked offended. "Don't mind him," Yamamoto reassured the brunette. "He's not usually like this. Maybe he woke up too early or something; he's just rather cranky in the mornings."

"Damn right I am," Reborn snarled, cocking his gun and pointing it at the brunette's face. "Give me your name, kid, and one reason why I shouldn't exorcise you right now."

"What are you saying?" Yamamoto asked exasperatedly, yanking the barrel of the gun away from the brunette's face. "Did you hit your head or something? You can't exorcise a human!"

"I—what?" Reborn asked, suddenly thrown completely off track. At this point, Yamamoto actually looked concerned. "Are you sure you're not sick or something? You honestly didn't think this kid was a demon, did you?"

"I'm _fine_, you idiot, now shut up and stop standing in front of me!" Reborn barked, trying to twist his gun out of Yamamoto's grip without accidentally firing at his assistant. It would take too much effort to clean up after another body.

"Look, I'm here to look for someone," the brunette said, actually squirming inbetween the two arguing men so that he could push them away from each other. His touch was feather soft against Reborn's chest, which startled the man. How could such violent fists act in such a gentle manner?

"I'm looking for someone named Reborn," the brunette said. "Do you know him?"

There was a very awkward pause, in which Reborn exchanged a dark look with Yamamoto. The brunette watched them, his eyes darting back and forth between the two taller males. Then, Yamamoto chuckled weakly and jerked a thumb over at Reborn.

"That's who you're looking for, kid," Yamamoto said cheerfully. "Nice way to start off the introductions, eh?'

The brunette's jaw dropped. He stared at Reborn, looking the man up and down and up again before spinning around to Yamamoto, mouthing like a fish out of water and pointing with a shaky finger at the scowling man.

"_This_ is Reborn?" he hissed. "This undisciplined, violent, savage brute is Reborn?"

"Shut up, brat!" Reborn snapped, his face actually turning red.

"The one and only," Yamamoto confirmed in a mournful voice. "What were you expecting?"

The brunette shook his head, as though trying to get rid of unpleasant thoughts. "That's not what I imagined him to be!" he said weakly. "Reborn was supposed to be a smart, strong, outstanding investigator, not some street fighting maniac with a gun!"

If looks could kill, the kid would be the equivalent of a dead tuna on the floor. Reborn had a murderous expression on his face, and Yamamoto silently prayed to whatever deity that existed that he wouldn't get caught up in a fight at eight in the morning, because really, none of them were awake enough to battle.

"Well, I'm sure Reborn has his…off days," the black-haired assistant said, patting the brunette on the back.

"Fuck you, Yamamoto," Reborn growled. "Who are you?" he snapped at the kid. "How do you know my name?"

The brunette huffed, crossing his arms. The attempt to look angry was somewhat diminished due to the major height difference between the two men. "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, Tsuna for short," he said. "I was told to come here by my older brother."

Reborn's face instantly drained of the little colour that was in it. His heart seemed to have frozen in his chest again, laboring to beat. Everything suddenly made sense now. Why Tsuna looked so familiar. Why his primary instinct was to attack him. Why Reborn had actually fought to _kill_.

"Your brother?" Yamamoto said, surprised. "Does your brother know Reborn?"

"Apparently so," Tsuna replied, "They used to work together. You do know who I'm talking about, right, uh, Reborn?" The shortest of the three looked up at the dark-haired man, who looked like his spleen had just recently been removed with pliers.

"No idea," Reborn muttered, pushing Tsuna out of the way so he could open the door to the office. Tsuna spluttered in shock, grabbing his bags and running up to the hunter.

"Liar! My brother specifically mentioned you! Reborn, the owner of the Grimm Office! It's obviously you, so don't lie to me! If you don't want me to be here, just listen to what I have to say for five minutes! I swear I'll leave right after that!"

Reborn paused, but didn't answer. He threw Tsuna a glare over his shoulder and an equally dark look at Yamamoto before pushing the sad excuse for a front door open and slipping quietly into the building. Tsuna stared, perplexed. He jumped when Yamamoto patted his back.

"S'okay, kid," he grinned. "That's Reborn's way of saying he'll hear you out."

Tsuna beamed, the smile on his face equivalent to the brightness of several condensed suns. Yamamoto reeled back, blinking rapidly. After being stuck in a dreary, fogged-up London for such a long time, it was extremely rare to see anything remotely cheerful nowadays. Picking up his now sheathed katana, Yamamoto beckoned the teen into the downtrodden office.

Reborn was already set up for work when the two of them walked into the workroom. Tsuna gaped at the mess on the floors, tables, and bookshelves. Yamamoto grimaced at the kid's expression and offered him a chair.

"Thanks," Tsuna said weakly, dropping his stuff off at the doorway and scooting closer to where Reborn sat, piling up a bunch of papers on top of a thick, scaly-looking book. In the corner of the table, there was a broken picture frame lying on its back, empty save for the jagged edges sticking out of the side of the edge. Tsuna blinked, curious. He reached out to pick up the frame, which looked old, almost antique, and had fine, elegant carvings on its side. It felt smooth and heavy in the teen's palm, cold to the touch. Too bad it was damaged, Tsuna mused. It would have complimented any picture placed in the frame. To his surprise, Reborn's hand suddenly shot out of nowhere and grabbed the frame back, pulling the jagged glass across Tsuna's thumb by accident.

"Ouch!" Tsuna exclaimed, jerking his hand towards him. Blood was already welling up on his finger, a stinging pain shooting up his palm. He sucked on it, looking irritably at Reborn. "What was that for?"

"Don't go through people's things without asking," Reborn shot back, leaning to the side and tossing the broken frame into the garbage can without a second glance.

"Hey!" Tsuna yelped, diving for the discarded object. "Don't just throw it out; it's such a nice frame!"

"Don't touch it!" Reborn shouted, his hand closing around Tsuna's wrist as he yanked the brunette away from the trash bin…and right into his chest. Tsuna let out a "yeep!" of surprise as he fell against Reborn. It was like falling against a wall; Reborn's chest and torso were so sturdy it was hard to find any flexibility in the muscles. Tsuna accidentally planted a hand right over the hunter's heart in an attempt to sturdy himself, and he blinked when he felt the taller man's heartbeat underneath his fingers.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

It was like clockwork.

Reborn stared down at the massive clump of brown hair obscuring his view as Tsuna fell against his chest. He was dimly aware of the thin wrist he held in his hand and the brunette's palm that was resting on his chest, right over his heart, which was pounding away like a madman. It was all like a dream. He'd never thought he would see a person that so resembled a face he hadn't seen for six years, yet was so different from the one that he remembered. Was this all really happening?

A dry cough from the back of the room made the two males jump and leap away from each other like one would when avoiding the plague. Yamamoto was leaning back in his chair, trying, and failing, to keep a straight face. "So, uh, what were you here for again, Tsuna? Is it alright if I call you Tsuna?" Yamamoto asked, grinning.

"Oh, yes, of course," Tsuna stammered, face reddening against his will. What on earth was he doing? Behind him, Reborn also coughed, looking like his mood had just worsened considerably.

"Well? What are you here for?" he grumbled, taking a seat. Tsuna tugged the plastic chair over and sat carefully down on the edge, not really trusting the ancient looking thing to take his weight.

"I—I was told to come here by my older brother," Tsuna began slowly. "He once worked here, at the Grimm Office. I remembered an incident that occurred about six years ago, when I was eleven. My brother got into some kind of accident, and he became very ill. He came home for a short period of time, but suddenly left again. Before he did, though, he left me a letter, telling me that if anything out of the ordinary should happen to me, I was to go find the Grimm Office and ask for Reborn's help. He disappeared before I could ask questions, and he didn't come back for a very long time. But before I knew it, I was suddenly…sick. Just like my brother predicted. It was several years until I was old enough to travel on my own, and I've spent the last year or so looking for my brother within Europe before heading down to London to find you guys."

Tsuna took a breath, and Reborn chose that moment to interrupt.

"And so?"

Tsuna blinked. "So what?" he asked, confused.

"What do you want to do now that you're here?" Reborn asked. "We're nothing special if you haven't noticed already."

"Well I—I can see that," Tsuna said. "But please! I won't even ask you to help figure out what my illness is; I've been to many doctors already and I know I'm beyond help. Do you remember my brother, Reborn?"

"I—"

"I brought a picture, in case you don't!" Tsuna yelped, suddenly diving through his side bag. Reborn turned a ghastly shade of white.

"I don't need a picture—"

"Here!" Tsuna said, thrusting a sheet of glossy paper in front of Reborn. "You know him, right? My brother's name is Giotto."

Reborn stared at the smiling face of a young man with thick blonde hair. His heart hammered in his chest, and when he raised his hand to push the photo away from his face, Reborn could feel his hands shaking slightly.

"I _know_ who Giotto is, kid, so put that away!"

Tsuna bit his lip but complied, stowing the photo away in his bag with utmost care. Reborn pressed a hand to his face, wanting nothing more than to go back to bed. This had to be a nightmare, seeing Giotto's kid brother sitting in that chair across from him in this office. A really, really, _really_ bad nightmare.

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked tentatively. "Reborn, where is my brother?"

Reborn's eyes widened from under his palms. Scratch the last thought. This had to be hell on earth.

"Do you know where Giotto went, Reborn?" Tsuna asked again, his dark eyes pleading silently. "I've been trying to find him for years, but I don't have any idea where he went. Has he come by the Grimm Office at any time during these past six years? I really want him to know that…that even if he's sick, or if he feels guilty of causing my illness, I don't care. I just want to see him again and know that he's alright. We can find a cure together. Do you know where he is?"

Reborn sat wordlessly, a blank expression on his face. He pressed a hand to his mouth, inhaled sharply, leaned back in his chair, and then stared at Tsuna for a very, very long time. Yamamoto watched them, quiet but observant, looking between the brunette and the dark-haired man. Finally, Reborn sat back upright in his seat, a shadowed, almost haunted expression on his face.

"I don't know where Giotto is," he stated bluntly. "I've been here all six years, doing my own work, and your brother has not come once. Not before or recently. You can ask Yamamoto if you don't believe me. He's been working here for two years, and no familiar faces have appeared at the Grimm Office for a long time."

Tsuna bit his lip. He looked heartbroken. "Nobody at all?" he whispered.

"None," Reborn replied.

Yamamoto shook his head when Tsuna looked his way. "I've never heard of Giotto before, kid," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Tsuna said, quickly rubbing his eyes. He sighed, mussing up his already messy hair and looked back at Reborn. "Uhm, if Giotto hasn't come by, I just wanted to ask if a man named Cozart Shimon has."

Reborn's eyebrows went up. "Cozart?" he asked.

"Giotto knows him," Tsuna said. "And told me he worked here too. Since you don't know anything about my brother, I was planning on asking Cozart next. Have you got any idea where he's gone to? He doesn't work here anymore, does he?"

Reborn sat back, a strange expression on his face. "No, Cozart doesn't work here anymore…" he said slowly, trailing off. "Cozart died several years ago."

Now it was Tsuna's turn to look appalled. "Cozart is dead?" he said, jaw dropping. "But—but—"

Reborn turned his head to look out the window. He looked highly uncomfortable. "Look, there's nothing I can do for you here. Just…go back to wherever you came from. You're probably never going to find your brother anyway."

Yamamoto shot Reborn a look that clearly said _Quit talking like a jackass_, but the dark-haired man only shrugged and shook his head. "Go back to the doctors as well. There's no illness they can't cure sooner or later. If it's actually that bad, consider yourself lucky you lasted for six years and maybe you won't die as quickly."

"Reborn!" Yamamoto said in exasperation, standing up. "You're an asshole, you know?"

"Thanks," Reborn replied dryly, "I'm only telling the truth."

"Well, one of the reasons why I wanted to find Giotto was because he's the one who caused the illness," Tsuna said softly. "It might be contagious, which is why I caught it, but it was only infectious coming from him. I've seen many people over the years and I have no effect on them whatsoever. It's very strange, and I really want to be cured of it."

"What's the illness like?" Yamamoto asked.

Tsuna tapped his lip thoughtfully. "I don't know how to describe it…it makes me feel weak at first, and then, there's adrenaline pumping in my bloodstream. I can _feel_ energy moving through me. And usually…I become very violent. There are times when I destroyed places and things without meaning to…and sometimes I don't remember what I'm doing. I'm worried that I'll really hurt somebody accidentally without knowing what I was doing."

Reborn suppressed an outraged noise in his throat with difficulty. Hurt somebody? The kid had almost killed him this morning, and if one knew Reborn, it was easier to find the lost city of Atlantis than to inflict injury upon him. The 'illness' was probably more serious than Tsuna thought it was.

"Then you shouldn't stay in the city," Reborn grumbled. "You might wipe the place out without remembering."

"Hieee?" Tsuna shrieked, eyes going wide.

"Reborn!" Yamamoto groaned, facepalming.

"Only telling the truth," Reborn shrugged, popping his back. Yamamoto rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Tsuna brightened up, jumping to his feet.

"I have an idea!" he said quickly. "I'll stay here!"

"WHAT?" Reborn and Yamamoto said in unison, eyes widening in shock.

"You're both strong, right?" Tsuna asked, looking at them. "I can tell that much, you know. If I stay with you guys, and I go on some rampage, I know you can stop me. Please!" he added, looking pleadingly at the two shocked men. "I know I'm imposing, but I really don't have anywhere to stay and I don't want to kill anybody by accident and I need to find out where Giotto went—"

"Relax, kid, seriously!" Reborn cut in, slapping a hand over Tsuna's mouth to keep him from talking. "You can stay here, so shut up!"

Tsuna brightened, brown eyes sparkling. Yamamoto suppressed a snort with difficulty and tossed over his shoulder, "He's staying with you then."

"What?" Reborn said sharply, looking up. Yamamoto gave him a _well, obviously, you idiot_ look and replied, "I live with Byakuran already. Sadly, there's no room. So Tsuna can stay at your place. You can be the gentleman and sleep on the floor so the kid gets your bed."

Reborn opened his mouth to utter several extremely rude words to his assistant while Tsuna giggled from under the dark-haired man's palm. His breath tickled Reborn's hand, and the man retracted it at once, refusing to look down at the brown-haired boy. He shouldn't be doing this. He had no right to look Tsuna in the eye, really. Everything was just one huge mess.

He really shouldn't have gotten out of bed that morning.

Tsuna was picking up his things, a cheerful expression on his face while Yamamoto reassured him that he and Reborn would do their best to find Giotto when loud footsteps could be heard running up the stairs. Reborn and Yamamoto stiffened at once, the taller going for his gun and Yamamoto unsheathing his sword. A second later, the door burst open to reveal Luce stumbling in, out of breath, with a panicked expression on her face.

"Luce!" Yamamoto said in surprise. "What's going on?"

Luce tried to speak, but she was too out of breath. Reborn walked over at once and offered her his arm, leading the young woman into the plastic chair. "Breathe easy," the man said, a serious expression on his face. "What's the matter, Luce?"

It took several seconds before Luce could calm down, and the words she spoke chilled the three men in the room.

"There's some—something down at the city center," Luce gasped, wiping at tears that had welled up in her eyes. "It's horrible…it's so horrible."

"What happened?" Reborn asked urgently. Luce took a deep breath and whispered,

"Nine…there's nine people there…and they're dead. Their bodies are all over the streets."

"All over the streets?" Yamamoto repeated, his voice hard.

"They were ripped apart completely," Luce shuddered. "The entire street is covered in blood. It was like it happened in an instant overnight."

Reborn and Yamamoto glanced at each other. This didn't sound like a normal murder scene. "Should we go?" Yamamoto mouthed.

Reborn nodded stiffly. "Tsuna, stay with Luce here," he instructed. "We'll be back in an hour or so."

Tsuna nodded, looking a little green, but kneeled down next to the distraught Luce and patted her arm comfortingly.

Reborn jerked his head at Yamamoto, and the two men grabbed their coats. Without a word, the exited the office and headed towards what looked like their first real case in ages.

* * *

><p>I was watching Adele's live concert while writing this. That woman is amazing. She wasn't half of what I expected her to be and about ten times as better than I thought she was :D Her songs and her voice are to die for, admit it. I know I'd love to be able to sing like that.<p>

Aaaand Chapter Two's up! Thanks for reading so far, and comments are much appreciated. I promise to update soon!

-BlackStar


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome to The Grimm Office

Chi's Sweet Home is what I watch when I'm drunk off my face. When I'm up till 4am doing last minute projects, I listen to Nyan cat on a 10 hour loop on youtube. In other news, I hate Rick Santorum. Really, I do. Also, I have a new, irrational fear of the dark. I'm seventeen already, man…this is killing me.

Presenting Chapter Three, kora!

**Warning**: might get graphical here and there because of the murder scenes. I get a bit descriptive, so if you don't feel comfortable reading that, just scroll down until it's over. Shouldn't be longer than a paragraph each :'D Fair warning, so please don't hate me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

If there was a word to describe the murder scene when Reborn and Yamamoto came up on it, this would be it:

Overkill.

Luce's description had been gruesome enough, but in reality, it didn't even come close to what she said. It was ten times worse than that. There were nine bodies—or what was left of them—scattered around the town center, legs, arms, chests and organs littering the blood red cobblestones. A leg next to the massive stone fountain was broken in about five different places with the bones sticking out of the flesh. It rested near the remains of a man's torso, so badly slashed apart it looked like a plastic bag that had been punctured and slashed by sharp knives. Eight heads were lying in separate corners of the square, each victim's expression either one of pure terror or twisted in agony. Their pale faces contrasted sharply with the stained ground. Reborn looked around, frowning. Eight heads…wasn't there nine victims?

"Reborn," Yamamoto muttered, nudging him. "Look up there."

Reborn tilted his head back, eyes catching sight of the water from the old stone fountain that had been stained with an oddly pinkish hue before seeing what was at the top of the decorative centerpiece.

The last head, one of a redhead male's, was impaled on the tip of the sword held by the stone statue riding a rearing stone horse. His face was so badly mutilated that one could hardly see the facial features. The blood continued to drip from the decapitated cranium, occasionally peppering the edge of the fountain with small droplets of red because of the wind.

A small crowd had gathered to stare at the horrific scene even though police officers were trying to shoo them away. There were the sounds of passer-bys being violently ill in the sides of the streets. Reborn pressed his lips together and pushed past several people standing in front of him. Yamamoto followed.

"Sir, I'm afraid you can't pass," an officer said to him, halting Reborn with a gloved hand.

"You're a rookie, aren't you?" Reborn asked, raising an eyebrow. The police officer cast him a confused look.

"Sir?"

"If you had been on the police force for longer than six years, you'll know when you need to let me through," Reborn said casually, shoving the man out of the way and walking up to the fountain. He tossed his bag to a disgruntled Yamamoto, who caught it and slung it over his own shoulder. The private investigator stripped off his coat, rolled up his sleeves and kicked off his shoes before landing with a splash into the knee-deep waters of the fountain.

"What're you doing?" the rookie yelled, starting forwards. "Hey! I need you to step away from this area!" Yamamoto rolled his eyes and turned to explain once again why they were allowed to enter a crime scene, since Reborn was so descriptive about his reasons, but an arm suddenly shot out and pushed the officer back.

"Get out of here. You're making a mess on the scene," a low voice growled, and the rookie's eyes widened.

"Sir—"

Yamamoto's eyebrows went up, and then he pressed his lips together when he recognized the new arrival. "You're here early," he grumbled. The light-haired man now standing next to Yamamoto turned his startling ice cold blue-grey eyes upon dark brown ones.

"Of course," he said shortly, crossing his arms over his long, black coat. "As long as you two are involved, there's definatly going to be an awful amount of chaos and disorder." Yamamoto scowled at that.

"Sure, Inspector. Keep telling yourself that when you don't even know what you're up against."

The man turned to him, challenging. "Oh, really?"

"Really," Yamamoto shot back with a heated glare. Sparks flew for a moment, but then, almost simultaneously, they both turned to look up at the man who was currently climbing up the statue in the middle of the fountain.

Reborn scaled up the six-foot figure easily, swinging his long legs over the complicated design of arms, legs, shoulders and hat. Standing comfortable with one foot on the crook of the soldier's arm and the other on the sculpture's extremely long nose, Reborn tugged a short dagger out from under his pant leg and faced the head impaled upon the stone sword. Tilting his dagger up, Reborn smoothly slid the blade into the cut already made at the base of the neck where the head was impaled. Carefully sliding the head off the sword, Reborn lifted it up and climbed back down into the fountain with it in hand. The crowd and even several policemen made noises of disgust and horror at how casually the dark-haired male was treating the head. Reborn acted like he might have just been holding a Popsicle.

Splashing on his way out, Reborn motioned for Yamamoto to take the head from him, and the corners of his mouth turned down at once when he saw who was standing next to his assistant.

"What are you doing here?" he called out bluntly to the light-haired male.

"It's my job to be here, Reborn, or are you so stupid you can't figure it out?" the Inspector retorted, crossing his arms haughtily. Reborn's glare intensified.

"Shut the hell up, Alaude," he snarled as Yamamoto gingerly took the handle of the blade off Reborn's hands. Alaude marched forward, an equal look of contempt and huge dislike on his handsome features.

"I'm here to make sure that you and your assistant don't make a mess of things like you always do," he snapped. "We've had more than enough experience in the past few years with 'accidents' and vandalism caused by your less than orthodox investigation techniques."

"If it hadn't been for our unorthodox techniques, more than three-quarters of your cases would still be stacked up in your filing cabinet with _Closed _and _Unsolved_ stamped across the envelopes because you won't know how the fuck to go after the culprits," Reborn sneered, yanking his shoes back on. "And I'm pretty sure the oh-so-reverend Special Investigation Forces wouldn't be as almighty as they are today, no?"

Yamamoto could swear Alaude was trying to kill Reborn with just the intensity of his glare.

"Big words coming from a small, underfunded office located in an alleyway," the light-haired man said coolly. "I've hardly seen you two for two years anyway, so I think it's safe to assume that you're officially out of business and aren't as _almighty_ as you were once upon a time, no?"

"Look around you and you tell me whether or not you think you need our help, Alaude," Reborn said dangerously, a deathly aura radiating off him.

Alaude huffed, crossing his arms as he stared at the grotesque murder scene, but said nothing more. Reborn muttered a "That's right, bastard" under his breath, but Yamamoto stepped on his socked foot, giving the dark-haired man a _Shut the hell up _look.

A police officer walked up with a white cloth in hand, which Reborn spread over the flat surface of the fountain's edge and Yamamoto carefully lowered the head onto the fabric, where red stained to pristine colour at once. All three men stared at the cranium for several moments. Then, Yamamoto gestured to the violently torn skin at the neck and commented, "Looks like his head was bitten off."

"Bitten off from the top," Reborn added, flicking at the handing skin with his dagger. "The teeth marks are relatively equivalent to the standard positioning of teeth in a jaw. Whatever killed his guy had a mouth big enough to bite off the entire head in one go."

"Judging from the dents in the spine, the teeth are positioned closely together, and very sharp," Alaude said. "It's a clean cut, and the bone was probably snapped clean off from just one bite. There's no indication of a second attempt. Are you getting all this down?" he added sharply to the officer at his side, who was scribbling feverishly into a black notebook.

"Yes, sir," the officer said, finishing with flourish, only to have his book snatched out of his hand by Alaude. "Huh?"

"This is now confidential information," Alaude said shortly. "I'll be taking it from here."

"But sir," the officer said, blinking, "I need to submit my report to—"

"Your report will say _no distinguishable information gathered at the scene_," Alaude said shortly. "If I find out that you've given this information to your chief, I can promise you that you won't be reporting to him much longer, understood?"

"But sir—"

"_Understood_?" Alaude asked, turning his blazing glare on the poor officer, who swallowed weakly and nodded.

"Still bullying your subordinates, I see," Reborn snickered. "You act like an old parent with an extremely dysfunctional family."

"He's not one of my men," Alaude sneered back. "If you had to actually take on a leadership position, you'd know. Not that you can handle responsibility, anyway."

"Having trust issues already? Getting soft, I see."

"You wish. I've no time to argue with people like you. Give me the head so I can get started on my work."

Reborn huffed and wrapped the cloth around the head, the flash of red hair burning his eyes before vanishing under a layer of white. Reborn tossed the appendage over to Alaude, who caught it and dumped in into the arms of a petrified looking officer. Another man in a dark coat came up and took the head while a sandy-haired male hurried up to Alaude, whispering something in his ear. Alaude paused, and then turned and vanished into the crowd with the other. Reborn 'tsked' in irritation, looking over at Yamamoto.

"Alright, now that Mr. Stick-up-his-ass is gone, we'll get started," he grumbled. Yamamoto rolled his eyes out of annoyance and amusement. Every time Alaude and Reborn met, they argued like children over the stupidest things. It had been that way for apparently many years already. Maybe it was because high-intelligence people weren't socially compatible, or maybe it was just how each individual's investigations often disrupted the other's, but either way, Reborn and Alaude loathed each other. Period.

"The size of the teeth markings on the spine and skin are roughly five to seven centimeters long, about three centimeters wide. So I'd say that whatever bit the head off is either a werewolf with a really big mouth or a small Cerberus cross-breed," Yamamoto said slowly.

"It's neither," Reborn replied. "Werewolves don't intentionally kill their prey, and a Cerberus, cross-breed or not, won't leave the bodies behind. If he kills, it's so that he could enjoy his meal. Now, I didn't say this in front of Alaude, and he probably knows that I'm withholding information, but whatever," Reborn continued. "The shape of the bite marks is sharp, but near the top, the skin was rounded, like it was stretched by something with a sharp point, but gets gradually thicker near the top."

"A fang," Yamamoto said, catching on immediately.

Reborn nodded. "Correct, a fang. This leads us to the conclusion that it wasn't a dog of sorts, since their teeth aren't long enough to leave behind the roundness that we saw on the skin."

"…is it a serpent?" Yamamoto asked slowly. "It's not uncommon for them to sink their teeth completely into their prey…but they don't often kill like this, do they?"

"They enjoy crushing their prey to death more," Reborn smirked, smoothly doing up his coat. "Which begs the question; why did this serpent attack like this?"

"Probably not by themselves," Yamamoto mused. "Perhaps something ordered the demon do kill like this?"

"That's not impossible," Reborn said, tapping his foot on the ground. "Question now is who's doing the ordering? A serpent demon isn't to be taken likely. They're highly cunning and intelligent. Whatever it is has got to be even smarter or dangerous than that."

"Research time?" Yamamoto asked wearily. "There aren't many demons in or near London that's any stronger than Baalberith, and he's a secretary. He rarely comes out to feed."

"He doesn't have a motive to _kill_, that's the main issue," Reborn stated. "These killings aren't random. We'll have to do background searches of these people to see the link between them."

"Even more research," Yamamoto sighed. "I hate research."

"Shut up. This is our first case in years and the first thing you do is complain?" Reborn snapped, grabbing his bag from Yamamoto.

"_All_ I've been doing in the past years is research," Yamamoto reminded the other. "Every time I do paperwork, I want to vomit. In fact, when I see paper, I feel deathly ill and annoyed to the point where I want to slash everything into tiny pieces with my katana and light it all on fire."

"Do that and I'll have you charged with arson and intentional damage or public property," a cold voice came from behind the two demon hunters. Reborn wheeled around and snapped, "Why'd you come back, Alaude? It was so nice and peaceful without your existence."

Alaude glared, but said simply, "There's something I think you two should see."

Reborn's eyebrows went up and Yamamoto looked as though the Investigator had just expressed the desire to become a ballerina.

"You're fucking with me. You, Alaude, want _our_ help?" Reborn asked, sounding almost incredulous, but of course he didn't make the surprise evident in his voice. That just wasn't his style, to be startled.

"Whether I like it or not, it's not my field of expertise," Alaude growled through gritted teeth. "You want to see this or not?"

Reborn and Yamamoto glanced at each other, and then followed the light-haired man through the dispersing crowds and down the street. They walked down a familiar road, one which led to their office. They passed several stores, but when they reached Luce's Café, Alaude crossed the street and led the two demon hunters over to a dark, secluded alleyway where the shadowy figures of two of Alaude's men were standing. They nodded to their boss as the light-haired man led Reborn and Yamamoto a little ways into the alley before standing back and gesturing to the ground.

"This," Alaude said quietly, "is what one of my subordinates found when he was patrolling the area after the discovery of the mass murder scene. Do you have any explanation for what the hell has gone on here?"

Reborn and Yamamoto both stood, both unable to speak for several moments. On the ground were the bodies of four burly looking men, parts of their bodies burned so badly that the flesh was blackened and rotting apart. Other more severe burns had already dissolved into ash or completely seared through the body. But the most horrible damage to all of the bodies were the fact that their heads were completely smashed in, the remainders of their skulls, eyeballs, ears, teeth and brain all mashed into pulp. There was a bloody smear on the wall, where a man was slumped under, a pistol in his hand. There were other weapons lying discarded on the ground; a dagger, a metal rod, and another short knife. Reborn walked slowly over and looked at the pistol. It was unloaded.

"Holy shit…" Yamamoto muttered, inspecting one of the bodies next to Alaude. "Their heads are completely smashed in."

"Not even," Alaude said, gesturing to one of the bodies lying further back. "It looks almost as though the heads were popped like balloons. That is a frightfully inhuman amount of force being used."

Reborn said nothing. He walked over the one of the guys and stared down at the face. There were the remains of a whiskery, singed moustache just above the upper lip, burnt black. Anything else exceeding the last bit of facial hair was completely gone. Reborn kneeled down and inspected the part of the skull that remained, frowning. There was a strange, upwards slant to it, like the force had been exerted from the base of the nose and then shoved _up_. Littered next to the destroyed head were small chunks of the skull, broken off and also blackened by flame.

"Yamamoto," Reborn said slowly, "Come here."

"Eh?" The younger looked up from the knife he was trying to pry out of one of the bodies' stiff hand. Alaude turned as well, cold eyes watching critically. Reborn stood up and as Yamamoto came up next to him, the taller man suddenly reached out and shoved the heel of his palm right under Yamamoto's nose, making him yelp in surprise.

"Whoa!"

Reborn's eyes narrowed. "Stay still," he said to Yamamoto. The other man stilled, confused, as Reborn slowly moved his palm up Yamamoto's face.

"Their heads weren't popped," Reborn frowned. "Their heads were _shoved_ off their skulls. The amount of power that was used drove the top of their heads right off."

"No way," Yamamoto said, almost disbelieving. Reborn grumbled. "Shut up. There's an incline near the back with the remains of the head. You can take a look into it later," he added, addressing the Investigator.

Alaude grunted, nodding. "That we'll do without you asking."

But Reborn didn't reply. Something was off. He glanced back at the small bits of skull on the round, which had slightly rounded kind of triangular shape to it. How did that work? If the palm could push the head right off…

Suddenly, a memory hit Reborn like an oncoming train. For an unsteady moment, all he saw in his mind was a gloved hand, fingers splayed open as though they were going to grab Reborn's head and smash it flat against the wall behind him.

"Fuck," Reborn cussed slowly as he spread his previously closed fingers open, seeing Yamamoto's dark eye inbetween the gaps of his limbs. Now everything made sense. Those pieces on the ground came from the space left between the fingers.

"Reborn?" Yamamoto asked. "What's with your face?"

"Nothing," the dark-haired man replied. "I just thought of something…but I'm going to have to research it."

Yamamoto nodded, looking back at Alaude. "There's nothing we know of that would have killed these men in such a specific way. We'll notify you once something comes up."

"Bag these and tag these for me, will you?" Reborn asked, gesturing to the bodies. "I want to go down to the station and look into it more closely when it's not in an alleyway."

Alaude didn't look thrilled at the thought of Reborn coming into his office, but clearly the defilement of his city was more important than guest issues. "Fine. Call beforehand."

Reborn grunted, casting one last look at the body. "You might want to get your men to clean everything up as soon as possible. Screw investigation at the scene of the crime. With so much blood all over the city, you're bound to attract the _E__urynomus_ that lurks out in the marshes."

"A what?" Alaude asked suspiciously.

"A Prince of Hell. He feeds off bodies of the dead," Reborn replied shortly. "And he's not picky about his food, or about who tries to stop him from eating the dead. He'll just kill the living and eat them if they get between his meals."

"Good to know," Alaude grumbled. He gave one of his men a pointed look, and the officer hurried away at once. He stood for a moment, then turned to Reborn and said quietly, "Why is all this happening now? There's been no movement of the supernatural for two years, and suddenly thirteen people are found dead in one day?"

"Actually," Yamamoto said, "Judging by rigor mortis, they've been dead for about a day or so at the very least."

Alaude glowered murderously. "So this occurred last night. The amount of discipline in this city is reaching its all-time low." With those words, the Investigator turned and stalked out of the alleyway, leaving behind two of his subordinates. There was an awkward moment of silence before Reborn shrugged his shoulders and said, "We're leaving. There's a lot of work to be done."

"You can say that again," Yamamoto groaned, rubbing his tired eyes. "Let's go back to the office. Luce and Tsuna are still there."

At the mention of the brunette's name, Reborn felt a cold chill run down his spine. Glancing back at the bodies, he couldn't help but suspect that there was something more to this case than he'd originally thought.

"Reborn? Are you coming or not?"

Rolling his eyes, the dark-haired man muttered, "Shut up, I'm walking," and caught up with his assistant. Yamamoto was scrawling stuff down on his notepad as he walked away from the alleyway with Reborn.

"I suggest we pay Alaude a visit tomorrow afternoon. Better we look the bodies over before they're completely spoiled. We should also go down to the Church library and dig up documents within the last ten years or so to see if there are any similarities in the past—"

"No need for ten years," Reborn cut in. "Search it up from six years ago. Shorter time frame makes research easier."

"Uh, okay then," Yamamoto paused, erasing something. "Later on, we could travel out into the countryside and see if any of the lower spirits have any news to offer."

"That means I have to buy bribes for them," Reborn complained. "Your plans always involve money."

"Shut up," Yamamoto shot back, and the two bickered their way down the street, finally morphing into a more serious conversation about the massacre in the town square. A little ways behind the two demon hunters was a tall man with spikey white hair watching Yamamoto silently as he walked away. When the two were out of sight, the man slowly approached the alleyway where the two hunters had been working previously. One of Alaude's subordinates noticed the new arrival, and stepped out.

"Sorry, sir, but this area is off limits," the man said firmly.

"Oh, is it?" Byakuran said with surprise. "Why?"

"That's private information," the man said coolly. "We're afraid you're going to have to take another route."

"Alright," Byakuran said in defeat. "Good day to you, gentlemen." Without waiting for a reply, the purple-eye man left the scene, walking down the empty road in the mid-morning gloom.

He wasn't blind. He'd seen the bodies lying on the ground in the alleyway, and the mass murder scene at the town square. There were tons of rumors and questions buzzing around the city of London now, but Byakuran had no interest in any of those queries.

All he wanted to know was why Yamamoto was part of the special investigations dealing with such brutal, literally inhuman killings.

* * *

><p><strong>Terms: <strong>

Baalberith: also known as Berith. He is the Chief Secretary of Hell

Cerberus: a three-headed dog from Ancient Greek myths

Eurynomus: a prince of hell that eats the dead

Rigor Mortis: one of the recognizable signs of death that is caused by a chemical change in the muscles after death, causing the limbs of the corpse to become stiff and difficult to move or manipulate. Commences about 3-4 hours after death in humans, and reaches maximum stiffness after 12 hours. Yamamoto figured that out when he found that the one of the hands holding a knife was clenched tightly around the handle.

I'm sorry I took so long to upload. I've had four projects to do, two of which were due this week, and an essay to write. But I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and I promise to do my best with the next one!

Thank you for reading! Comments make me smile : )

-BlackStar


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome to The Grimm Office

Fact: I love the Lord of the Rings. I really want to watch _The Hobbit_ next December.

Recent infatuation: I'm in love with Xanxus at the moment. Everything about him is so hnnnnnnngh :3

In school: People who freeload on group projects and fuck up our final presentation should be bitten to death.

We're on Chapter Four now. Thank you to all of you who reviewed~ I promise to work hard!

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Four<p>

For the first time in two years, the Grimm Office was back in business.

Not only did they have two major crime cases on their plate, but superstitious civilians were now crowding the small alleyway and clamoring up into the tiny office to ask for advice and protective charms. There were so many people demanding for assistance that the office was forced to open an hour early and work nearly six hours overtime lest there be a riot right there on the street. People were terrified. The mass murder of nine innocent people in a public place wasn't something that sat well with the general residents of London.

Reborn would never admit it out loud, but Tsuna's timely arrival was pretty much a gift from whatever deity exists up above the clouds of the dreary city. Three pairs of hands definitely moved faster than two, and the brunette was surprisingly mature for his age when dealing with a large group of people. Perhaps it was something picked up off his travels, Reborn mused. But the teen was often the mediator of the rowdier group of people congested in the lobby and stairs while Yamamoto and Reborn multitasked, switching between researching the two cases while occasionally giving out instructions to common household protection charms or travelling spells to a frantic citizen.

On Reborn's request, the case involving the four murdered men was kept a secret from Tsuna. Yamamoto had agreed, though the look in his eye told Reborn that the young man knew he was holding something back. But there was hardly any time to breathe, let along feel guilty for not telling the truth. If the two demon hunters had been overworked before, it was nothing compared to this. They were so busy they didn't even have time to go down to Alaude's police station to investigate the bodies, though Reborn had phoned several times, much to Alaude's annoyance, for them to keep the bodies until they had time to visit.

About three days into the hectic schedule, the hype had finally died down a little and Reborn was able to lock up for the day while forcibly ejecting two hassled looking middle-aged ladies who were convinced that they would be the next targets and a young girl who was clearly there just to look at Yamamoto.

"Fuck this," Reborn groaned, jamming his key into the keyhole and turning the knob experimentally after locking up. "If I can't even walk into my own office tomorrow morning because of all the people crowded around the alleyway, I'm taking the day off and I'm going far, far, _far_ away."

"I won't mind that," Yamamoto yawned, dark circles under his eyes. "Just don't forget to bring me the old drafts I asked you for. Oh, and if you're going out, why not drop by to the Church for old documents? While you're at it, head over to the marshland too, and try to get some information out of the spirit population, won't you? But that means you'll have to buy bribes, so if you're going down to the Apothecary, do me a favour and drop by to the chemist's as well, since we need more—"

"Yamamoto," Reborn interrupted, "Shut. The. Fuck. Up. _Now_."

Yamamoto shrugged, looking considerably happier at the fact he managed to get a reaction out of Reborn with his teasing without actually getting shot. Reborn itched to wipe that infuriating smile off his assistant's face, but Tsuna suddenly reached out and tugged on Reborn's sleeve.

"What?" Reborn snapped. "You don't have to pull on me; how old are you, three?"

"Close, but you're off by about sixteen years," Tsuna replied smoothly, making Yamamoto snort behind them, not even bothering to be discreet about it. "We're running out of groceries, so can we drop by the store? I won't be long, promise."

"I have two more bags of pasta in the cabinet, you know," Reborn pointed out irritably. Tsuna huffed, crossing his arms and looking up with his wide, chocolate brown eyes.

"I know you do, but don't you ever get sick of eating the same thing over and over again every day, Reborn?"

"No," Reborn and Yamamoto answered at the same time, and the elder dark-haired man spun around to smack Yamamoto on the back of his head for the jibe.

Tsuna rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm sick of pasta. Your home life is so boring, all your enemies need to do is take a peek at your social life and they'd drop dead. I know how to cook, so you don't have to worry about making your own meal."

"Look, kid, I don't care about what you can do or whatever customs you've picked up on your travels, but I really can't give a shit about what I'm eating," Reborn growled, pointedly ignoring the part about his non-existent social life. "As long as I won't die of starvation I'm fine with what I have. I doubt that you haven't noticed, but I'm neck-deep in work. If I had time to cook, I'd use it for sleep."

"We're picking up groceries on the way home," Tsuna said stubbornly.

"We're not," Reborn snarled as they continued to walk.

"Yes, we are."

"No, we're _not_."

"You guys argue like an old married couple," Yamamoto commented breezily.

A second later, the dark-haired man was running down the street, dodging the bullets his boss fired after him.

* * *

><p>How Reborn managed to let himself get dragged off into the corner store, he had no idea. He remembered wanting to punch Yamamoto's grinning face in, but Tsuna had suddenly yanked on his arm so hard he felt as though his sockets were going to be ripped out, and the next thing Reborn knew, he was standing next to a cheerful brunette picking out fresh roman lettuce in the produce section.<p>

"Are you fucking done yet?" Reborn growled lowly, storming down the aisle as Tsuna went on a search for pepper and salt. Shoppers gave them a wide berth, terrified out of their wits at Reborn's dark aura.

"Nope," Tsuna said brightly, dropping the selected produce into Reborn's basket with a dull _thump_. "You gotta be careful about choosing groceries. What's the point of buying something that isn't fresh or is going to expire in a few days for something that's much tastier and generally the same price?"

"Who taught you to sound like an old lady?" Reborn grumbled, following the brunette down the aisle so he could pick out a box of tea leaves next. Tsuna paused, a sad look passing over his face before answering, "Giotto wasn't home most of the time, and if he was, he hardly ever had time to cook. So I did most of the household chores while he was away or asleep."

Reborn's exhaustion level doubled up the moment he heard Giotto's name again. Groaning to himself, he pressed a large hand over his eyes and wondered why everything seemed to be against him lately. Without knowing, he'd kept the blonde away from the younger Sawada with piles of work down at the office. Come to think of it, he didn't even know Giotto had a younger brother. If Tsuna didn't look so much like this old colleague, Reborn wouldn't have believed that they were related.

It was torture, having to see a reminder of the same face again and again every day, almost reminding him of what he'd done and hadn't done for the blonde six years ago.

"Reborn?"

The dark-haired man jerked back to attention when Tsuna called to him, inky eyes meeting brown ones.

"A little help?" Tsuna asked lightly, pointing up at a box of tea leaves on the highest shelf, where the brunette's fingertips just grazed the cardboard, but was unable to reach. Reborn stared, bemused for a moment, but then he set the shopping basket down on the ground.

Tsuna smiled in relief, glad that the elder was at least willing to lend a hand. To his utter surprise, Reborn suddenly stood behind Tsuna, placed his large hands on either side of the brunette's skinny waist and lifted him right up like he weighed nothing. Tsuna shrieked in shock.

"Hiee! Reborn! What are you doing?" he yelped, swinging his legs a little.

Reborn grunted, trying to avoid the teen's flat-soled shoes from hitting his face. "Stop squirming, kid! Just grab the tea leaves, will you?"

Tsuna blinked, and then faced the front. Sitting on the shelf right in front of him was the large, decorated box of leaves. Realizing what Reborn had done for him; Tsuna quickly picked the box closest to him and tossed it down into the shopping basket. "Done, done," he said hastily, "I got it!"

"Good," Reborn muttered, lowering the brunette down on the ground. "Next time you wanted to be choosy, don't pick the box on the highest shelf, brat."

"I'm not a brat," Tsuna pouted, crossing his arms and glowering at the cheaper selections of tea leaves in front of him. "If chosen correctly, tea can be a much better drink than coffee or even water. It refreshes the mind and replenishes energy."

"Whatever," Reborn complained, rolling his eyes. Tsuna opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly, he was conscious of something; Reborn's hands were still around his waist. As the teen suddenly stilled, it seemed as though the older man had also realized what he was still doing, and both of them froze.

Tsuna exhaled slowly, hyper-aware of how warm Reborn's hands were on his sides, which were just supporting him up mere seconds ago three feet off the ground. The said man was standing just inches away from Tsuna's back, so close he could almost feel the general body heat radiating off the elder.

…wouldn't it have been easier for Reborn to grab the box instead of lifting Tsuna up?

Almost as though he was realizing what he was doing, Reborn suddenly drew his hands back, leaving Tsuna to unexpectedly miss the security those hands gave him for a split second.

"Are you done yet?" Reborn complained, picking up the basket. Tsuna snapped out of his thoughts, managing to distract himself from the awkward pause by doing a quick mental count of all the things he'd wanted to buy today.

"Yes, we're done here," he managed, turning towards the cashiers. "Let's go back then."

"About time," Reborn mumbled, yawning widely. Tsuna shook his head in exasperation, heading down to the checkout lanes first. At that moment, both of the, unbeknownst to each other, was thinking along the same lines:

_Why the hell did I think to lift the kid up?_

_Why on earth did I feel safe with his hands around me?_

* * *

><p>Things returned to normal when they returned "home". Or, as Reborn liked to call it, "the freeloader coming back to take up more space". Tsuna had grumbled about that, saying that he was the one who allowed him to stay in the first place, and that he was doing most of the cleaning around the place, and how if he hadn't shown up, Reborn would still be ingesting ridiculous amount of pasta for any of the few meals he would eat during the day.<p>

At the moment, the dark-haired man was lying on his back on the floor, his head resting on a rolled-up coat as a makeshift pillow. When Tsuna had arrived, their first major argument was about who would take the couch. Since Reborn didn't own a bed, and the couch wouldn't fit the two of them, the dark-haired man had basically ejected all of the brunette's complaints and forced him to sleep on the lumpy sofa while he himself shoved aside several stacks of folders so a bit of space could be cleared out for sleeping on the floor.

The only downside to that was the fact that Tsuna wasn't used to having someone sleeping on the floor next to him yet, and he'd stepped on Reborn twice already while getting up.

Reborn flipped the page, highlighter inbetween his teeth, and scanned the report written by one of the monks from the Church. The inky scrawls made were nearly illegible, but after years of reading faded, old texts, Reborn was too used to it to care. He ran the marker over several lines and flipped the page over again, but there was nothing else in the report that seemed to be of much help anymore. Grumbling to himself, Reborn tossed the stack of papers onto a growing pile of discarded information, all labeled _bloody useless_.

"Dinner's ready," Tsuna called, walking into the living room. "Eat now and do your work later."

"No time," Reborn griped, rolling over to reach for another folder. Tsuna huffed and suddenly bounded forwards, sliding the pile out of Reborn's reach, making the elder growl in irritation.

"Give those back!"

"Not unless you eat," Tsuna replied stubbornly, keeping the papers out of Reborn's reach. The dark-haired man gave the brunette a blazing, angry glare, but a moment later, he rolled again and got smoothly up to his feet, reaching out to pinch Tsuna on the nose.

"Ow! What was that for?" Tsuna wailed, surprised.

"For interrupting my work, brat," Reborn smirked, unhooking his suspenders as he strolled into his kitchen. Tsuna grumbled but followed, walking around Reborn to take his seat on the opposite side of the cramped table. Through a huge effort on Tsuna's behalf, most of the garbage had been taken out, the dishes washed, the table cleared out and the kitchen finally looking more like a human inhabited it, not a troll. There was now enough room for the two of them to sit facing each other, knees jutting out awkwardly from under the table so they wouldn't bump against each other while they ate.

On the table were three dishes: an odd salad made with lettuce and some leftover cherry tomatoes, a dish of pasta with meatballs that were on sale today, and a simple chicken noodle broth. Reborn hated to admit it, but this was probably the first proper dinner he'd had in about a year.

Muttering quick thanks, he took two bowls and passed one over to Tsuna, who ladled soup into both of the chipped silverware while Reborn piled up some pasta onto both their plates. Everything was silent for a bit until the both started eating, the much needed food giving the two some energy.

"Move your feet so I can stretch my legs out, Tsuna," Reborn grumbled, shifting in his seat.

"If you want to stretch your legs, just kick your feet up on the stool," Tsuna retorted, spearing a meatball with his fork. Reborn snorted.

"No, I don't kick my feet up on stools. That's not gentlemanly at all."

"You, a gentleman?" Tsuna choked, faking a shocked look. "Since when? You're far from being gentlemanly at work or at home."

"That's because it's just you, or Yamamoto," Reborn chuckled darkly. "If you're not a stunning young lady, I couldn't care less."

Tsuna did a spit take, rolling his eyes. "You're awful, Reborn."

"Thanks for noticing."

"You're very welcome."

Silence once more. Tsuna couldn't help be grow a little jealous of the dark-haired man. Despite his god-awful attitude and general mockery, Reborn would definitely lie within the definition of a handsome, well-mannered gentleman. He dressed well, stood tall and proper, held both a smooth personality as well as a dangerous, calculating one. He was smart, observant, and deadly. The brunette chewed on his salad, tapping his foot on the floor. Really, if Reborn hadn't gone into the demon hunting business, then he would have been running a huge business or married some gorgeous woman and live in a huge mansion.

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, Tsuna asked tentatively, "So…how's the research for the case coming along?"

Reborn groaned out loud, taking a large gulp of soup. "Why are you bringing this up during dinner time? I'm eating, for crying out loud."

Tsuna winced. "Sorry. You just seemed stressed, so I tried to be polite." He stuck his tongue out in retaliation. Reborn stared at him for a moment, a strange look on his face, but then the dark-haired man just shrugged and picked out a large leaf from the salad. "Yamamoto and I are planning to go down to the Church sometime tomorrow. We need you to look after the Office."

"The Church? For what?" Tsuna asked, interested.

"There are old documents kept there that recorded a lot of incidents related with demons in this city, from the moment London came into existence. Going back a couple of years to when demons were much more active and looking up similar cases could help our investigation."

"I see…" Tsuna said slowly, sipping his soup. "That sounds like a lot of work. No wonder Giotto didn't come home often."

Reborn placed his bowl down, appetite vanishing in an instant. Tsuna sighed and poked at his food, a small smile on his face. "I never knew it was this busy at the Grimm Office. He used to tell me stories about the demons he'd encounter on the job. I remember wishing that when I grew up, I wanted to work with him here as well."

"Don't," Reborn said quietly. "It's not worth your time."

"I think so," Tsuna said, looking surprised at Reborn's answer. "It takes a different kind of courage and mentality to deal with the supernatural. Giotto knew the risks, so he specifically moved me to live somewhere outside of London so I wouldn't be involved. Even though he got sick and left, I know it was only because he didn't want to harm me."

"Is that so?" Reborn asked, picking ups his empty dishes and dropping them into the sink.

"Yes, that's exactly what I think," Tsuna replied firmly. "That's the brother I know. He wasn't always there for me when I was younger, but I know that he worked hard so that I could be happy. Now it's my turn to find him again and make sure he's okay."

"Didn't I tell you to give up on that?" Reborn turned, crossing his arms at the teen. "If you haven't found him for six years, what do you think your chances would be now?"

"Why are you so insistent that I give up?" Tsuna retorted. "It's like you don't want me to find Giotto or something!"

Reborn suddenly walked forwards, grabbing Tsuna's collar and jerking the teen up so that they were nearly nose to nose. "I'm telling you to give up because you weren't there when Giotto became ill," Reborn snarled. "And you didn't know the life he led here, in London. How much do you remember about him after he went home to you, sick? I'll bet you didn't see half of what I got a glimpse of. That was the last I ever saw of him. So realize this: the chances of you finding Giotto again are slim to none, and if you do, do you think you can handle what he's become?"

Tsuna's brown eyes stared at Reborn's dark pair, wide, silent, and uncertain. There was undoubtedly rage and anger in the elder's eyes, but was that…regret reflected in those black pupils? Reborn huffed and dropped the teen back down into his seat, glowering. He'd said too much. Without waiting for a reply, he exited the kitchen, storming down the hall and digging out a change for clothes for his shower.

Tsuna continued to sit in the kitchen long after Reborn had finished washing up, flopped back onto the floor with his notes, and had fallen asleep from exhaustion halfway through his research. The brunette quietly packed up the remaining dinner, washed up the plates, and turned off the lights in the kitchen.

The entire apartment was dark, barely lit up by a lone streetlamp located near the window in the living room. Tsuna tiptoed up to the sofa, casting a glance down at the sleeping figure lying on the floor. Reborn still his tie on, and the papers were lying on scattered on his chest, which was rising up and down in a slow, rhythmic pattern. Tsuna stared for a moment, and then slowly reached down to push the papers off Reborn. He worried about waking the dark-haired man, but when Reborn didn't even stir while Tsuna undid his tie and slipped it out from under his collar, it just went to show exactly how tired the elder was.

Tsuna placed the neatly folded tie on the coffee table, walking around to pull up the sheet Reborn usually slept with and tossed it over the dark-haired man. It was strange, seeing a grown man that was capable of slaughtering demons, investigating brutal murder scenes and go for days without food or sleep being so blatantly useless at taking care of himself. Tsuna allowed a small, amused smile to creep up onto his face as he smoothed the edges of the sheet out.

"You're weird, Reborn," he said softly under his breath.

And then, suddenly, a violent emotion passed through Tsuna's chest, and momentarily, his vision was tinged with red. The brunette's hands shot out to reach for Reborn's throat, the intent to kill boiling up within his veins—

Tsuna gasped and stumbled backwards into the couch, yanking his hands back to himself, shaking.

What was that?

What did he just try to do?

Trembling from head to toe, the teen backtracked away from Reborn as quickly and quietly as he could, curling up into a ball at the far end of the sofa, breaths coming out in ragged, barely controlled pants.

For a moment there, he'd seriously wanted to kill Reborn. He wanted to wrap his hands around the dark-haired man's neck and snap his spine in half. Tsuna whimpered, squeezing his hands into fists. This was the first time he was truly aware of how powerful he really was. Reborn exhaled loudly, making the brunette jump, but the elder only rolled over in his sleep, the large hand lying with its fingers curled next to his face. Tsuna was suddenly thrown back into the memory of Reborn picking him up at the grocery store.

Everything felt so strange.

Leaning back into the softening material of the couch, Tsuna stared up at the dark ceiling, twisting his hands together. If he was acting like this, only being affected by a small part of the 'illness', he could only wonder one thing.

What on earth would Giotto's life had been like?

* * *

><p>The next morning arrived in a haze of smoky clouds with a promise of rain. Reborn and Tsuna made their way down to the office, both yawning, bags under their eyes, necks stiff from sleeping in awkward positions and hair tousled. The customary crowd was gathered at the front, and the citizens rushed forwards, but Reborn fended them off and squeezed into the lobby with Tsuna, slamming the door on the visitors without a backwards glance.<p>

Yamamoto was already working upstairs when they came.

"Morning," the young man said wearily, extended a sheet of paper to Reborn. "Alaude called. He said for you to reply back as soon as you can."

"The Scotland Yard is actually calling me? What'd Alaude want?" Reborn asked, somewhat amused and irritated.

Yamamoto snorted. "Something about your ass being fried and the evidence being terminated if you don't go and do something about it now. It's been four days. I highly suggest that you go, before any useful proof is gone or Alaude burns everything for heat in this weather, whichever comes first."

"Kind words," Reborn retorted. "You're coming with me. Tsuna can stay here and deal with our most valued guests."

"Maa, maa," Yamamoto sighed, shaking his head in amusement as he did up his waistcoat and yanked up his jacket. "Looks like we'd better get a move on it."

"Watch the place," Reborn called over to the brunette, who nodded mutely while the two hunters left the office, pushed through the demanding crowd in front of the office and walked up the street, empty and quiet as usual. The few people that littered the street walked in a hurry, glancing back behind them every once in a while, as though fearing that they were being targeted.

"Jumpy, aren't they," Reborn commented, making Yamamoto snort again.

They arrived at the police station at a quarter to nine. The large, industrial grey building was a work of iron and brick, four stories high with a tall gate surrounding the perimeter. Two policemen stood guard at the gates, but as Reborn and Yamamoto neared, the two of them opened and allowed them to walk in. Alaude was sitting in the reception area, reading a book with his thin framed glasses perched on his nose. He looked up at the two hunters with a withering glare.

"Took you long enough to show your face, Reborn."

"When I come, you complain, and when I don't drop by, you complain even more," Reborn sneered. "I can't tell if you miss me or hate me so much you want to kill me in your own office."

Alaude glowered, but he stood up and whipped his spectacles off. "Shut up. Finish whatever freak experiments you need to do on those bodies and get them out of my cold room."

Reborn huffed, but followed the light-haired Investigator down into the basement. Yamamoto walked alongside him, glancing around the various rooms downstairs. Reborn had been to the police station so often in the past that he knew the place inside and out. Alaude led them to a room near the far back, opening the door and showing them a dimly lit room with four bodies lying down on four separate tables, covered in a simple white sheet. The temperatures in the room were freezing, and breaths rose up in little puffs of white smoke.

"Ten minutes, and I'm moving them out," Alaude threatened. "I've got business upstairs; someone who'll you'd want to meet later."

"Who is it, your girlfriend?" Reborn called over his shoulder, pulling his jacket off and tossing it over one of the bodies.

"My new _assistant_," Alaude snarled, turning on his heel and marching out of the room. The dark-haired hunter watched him walk, snorting a little. "Just wonderful; another stiff, narrow-sighted lackey to stand in our way."

"Just hurry up and go through the bodies, will you?" Yamamoto sighed, taking Reborn's coat off the body. Reborn grumbled a little under his breath and gave the body in the middle a friendly smack on the chest.

"There's nothing here that I haven't already seen," Reborn said simply.

Yamamoto stared at the elder, eyes narrowing. "Then why on earth are you here?"

"Simple," Reborn smirked. "I just wanted to take a look at the other bodies from the massacre, which Alaude so conveniently took away before I could investigate fully."

"You went through all this just to see those nine bodies?" Yamamoto asked, exasperated.

"Alaude wasn't going to just let me waltz in and go through his bodies," Reborn shot back, exiting the cold room to peer through the other rooms down the hall. Upon finding the one he wanted, Reborn casually pulled his knife out of his boot and stuck it into the lock, twisting until the door popped open. Striding into the room, the dark-haired man pushed the tables holding the bodies to one side with his foot, choosing to go through the drawers located on the sides of the wall instead. Yamamoto followed into the room apprehensively.

"How do you know it's this room?"

"By looking at the outlines on the table, of course," Reborn replied. "There aren't actual bodies; you can tell it's just pieces dumped together on the tables."

Yamamoto lifted up the sheet and peered underneath them. True to Reborn's words, there were the remains of the victims found at the town square four days ago. Letting the cloth fall back down over a severed leg, Yamamoto watched Reborn shuffle through the drawers, opening and closing them when he didn't find what he needed.

"What are you looking for?"

"The head," Reborn answered, shutting another drawer with a snap.

"Why?" Yamamoto asked, curious.

"Can't help the feeling that I missed something last I checked it," Reborn replied.

"So you waited for four days, made sure Alaude would be so pissed off at you he'd practically threaten you to come in, just so you could look at the head you picked up off the fountain? What's your point in this?"

"Partially to tick the man off, but because last time I didn't have my tools on me," Reborn shot back.

"What on earth would you possibly want to know? Didn't we already deduct that it was a serpent bite?"

"Yes, we did, but that's not what I'm looking for right now," Reborn said through gritted teeth. "Curse that blonde idiot; he's stuffed the head right in the back of the drawer."

"He's not blonde, that's a beige colour," Yamamoto corrected.

"Blond, beige; what's the difference? The only think anyone should care about is how ridiculous his hair colour is."

"He's French," Yamamoto pointed out as Reborn hefted a huge body bag out of the drawer and dumped it on the floor so that he could reach into the back and pull out a smaller sack.

"If he's French, then that's all more the reason why he shouldn't be in London," Reborn said through a clenched jaw, unwinding the rope around the bag. Gently, he extracted the head and laid it on the floor. He pulled out a pair of scissors and snipped a lock of faded hair off, tucking it away into a plastic baggy. Then, he took his dagger and carefully sliced off a part of the skin around the neck and scraped of part of the spine protruding from the head before dropping it back into the sack and tossing it into the drawer.

Yamamoto grimaced at the floppy, lifeless thump it made.

"Your depravity knows no bounds, does it?"

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Reborn said, standing up and tucking the knife back into his boot. "We should go back before the prick comes back down to kick us out when he's the one who made us come here."

The two hunters stepped out of the cold room, Reborn locking the door behind him as he went, and crowded back into the one with the four bodies. They stood silently, staring at it for a while, before Yamamoto said quietly, "Reborn? Who do you think killed these men?"

"Who knows?" Reborn shrugged, crossing his arms. Yamamoto gave him a dry look.

"Don't play dumb with me; that hardly fits your image."

"No, but it's the sarcasm that practically defines me."

"You do know, but you're just not telling me," Yamamoto said, eyes flashing dangerously. "Why aren't you?"

Reborn turned to look at his assistant, both of them battling each other with glares, but a moment later, they were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing upstairs, and heavy footsteps going down the hallway. A second later, Alaude appeared at the doorway.

"Done yet?" he asked irritably.

"Clear," Reborn answered. "How'd your date go?"

"Highly amusing," Alaude snapped. "While we're on the topic, I think I should introduce to you the lead of the new section that was recently opened in light of such events, which is under my division."

Reborn frowned, but both he and Yamamoto stepped out of the room and into the hallway to be greeted by the sight of a tall man wearing a dark navy coat standing in the cramped hallway. Yamamoto looked up. An expression of shock and utter disbelief crossed his face.

"This is Byakuran," Alaude said, gesturing to the tall, white-haired male with the familiar tattoo under his left eye. "The new head of External Affairs Section."

* * *

><p>Just throwing this out there; I hate English at the moment. I was writing a comparative essay while doing this and I swear my head was just blowing up at all the info I needed to do. SCHOOL HAS OFFICIALLY SUCKED OUT MY SOUL.<p>

I've also managed be become a hermit over the weekend leading up to March Break. I sleep for about eleven hours each day, get up to eat/shower/eat some more, and then I sleep again for about two more hours before I'm forcibly ejected out of my bed by my brother. Then I eat dinner. And then I sleep again. I haven't been on the internet for about five days. Things move fast when you lose touch with the outside world :'D

Thank you for reading! I'm honored to have received so many encouraging comments. You guys are amazing! Until the next chapter~

-BlackStar


	5. Chapter 5

Welcome to The Grimm Office

The local bookstore was doing a buy 3 get 1 free deal, so I brought two magazines, the Book of Awesome and got my copy of Macbeth for English free (Y) I feel like I beat the system somehow; wheeeeee~!

This installment of The Grimm Office is brought to you by the inner workings of my mind that has been influenced by two bowls of really tasty ramen. Welcome to Chapter Five!:3

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

They sat across each other in the cramped living room, Yamamoto staring down at his knees and Byakuran drumming his fingers on the dented coffee table, awkwardly directing his gaze in different directions. The initial surprise meeting at the police office had not gone over well, given the fact that Reborn had firstly cussed Byakuran off, Alaude had snarled at the dark-haired man for being childish and a full scale argument had escalated, going from Reborn accusing Alaude of purposefully hiring Byakuran to mess with their part of the investigation to the light-haired man all but launching himself in fury at the other, claiming that if Reborn continued to destroy parts of the city during investigations, he'd personally arrest the man.

Neither Yamamoto nor Byakuran knew where to insert themselves into the argument, but both played a big part in intervening when it looked as though things might actually get physical. Yamamoto had dragged Reborn out the door and all the way back to the office before the dark-haired man managed to regain some sense of calm.

"Damn that piece of—"

"_Reborn_," Yamamoto sighed in exasperation, "will you please shut up?"

"Say that again and I'll blow your head in half," Reborn sneered at Yamamoto, kicking open the already fragile door of the office open with his foot. Yamamoto winced at that.

"I'm being honest, Reborn. The way you two were arguing, I would have thought you were fucking three. Except your swear words proved me otherwise."

"The bastard was cussing at me in French! You heard that!" Reborn retorted, storming up the stairs.

"How do you know he was cussing you off? You don't even speak French!" Yamamoto cried, throwing his hands up into the air. Reborn turned to him with a dark expression on his face.

"I speak exactly ten words of French, seven of which are profanities, and the other three can either be used to demand sex or booze."

"You. Are. _Ridiculous_." Yamamoto groaned, pressing a hand to his face. Reborn sneered.

"_Merci, mon cher,"_ he retorted. Yamamoto glared. Reborn returned the favour before sighing and saying, "Look. I know I'm being bloody difficult, but you know how difficult it's going to be looking for clues now. Another officer is another block, no offence to the white-haired pretty boy. You know that as well as I do. Alaude's job is to defend the city, but our job is to find whatever's threatening London and eliminate it before it becomes a crisis. And it's damn hard to do so when they're breathing down our necks day and night."

"There's just no arguing with you, is there?" Yamamoto asked wearily, giving up already.

Reborn paused, as though thinking something over. "That reminds me. Don't get too close with Bakura or Byara or Baka, whatever his name is."

"Byakuran," Yamamoto corrected out of instinct, which made Reborn's eyebrows arch slightly.

"Yeah, whatever you said. I recommend you stay clear from him."

"Why?" Yamamoto asked, confused.

"Why?" Reborn repeated, rolling his eyes. "Didn't you see the way he was looking at you?"

Yamamoto's face heated up slightly, and he muttered, "You're imagining things."

"Say what you want, I know what I saw. I honestly expected him to walk up to you and ask you out for dinner. In any case, just don't let him be a hindrance. Time is short enough as it is without you going on dates at random with Alaude's lackey."

"I'm guessing this would be a bad time to tell you that he's my roommate, right?" Yamamoto interjected.

If looks could kill, Yamamoto would have been a dead man.

Now he was determinedly avoiding Byakuran's gaze, finding the slight tear in his pants rather interesting. It wasn't until the other man addressed Yamamoto directly that the dark-haired man was willing to look up.

"Yamamoto…why didn't you tell me you were working at the Grimm Office?"

Yamamoto pressed his lips together, looking up at his roommate. The piercing purple eyes were difficult to look at. "If you've seen what type of work we do, you'll realize that it was for your own safety."

"Safety?" Byakuran frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"Have you seen the mass murder down at the town square?" Yamamoto asked. "I'd rather not find your head sticking on a statue."

"Takeshi," Byakuran said in exasperation, "I'm a police officer. You knew that."

"I didn't know you were working under Alaude," Yamamoto pointed out. "So your argument about me not telling you what type of office work I do is invalid."

"There's a difference," Byakuran argued. "The Grimm Office experiences a greater amount of work hazards, and you know that. There's no stable support in an office run by a single man."

"On the contrary," Yamamoto shot back, "because Reborn's so experienced, and because there's a much smaller scale of people working there, it's much easier to keep everything on track and under control. Besides, it's demon hunting. If I wasn't good enough to do it, I wouldn't have lasted for so long."

"It's not a matter about how good you are at it; it's the level of dangers you're exposed to in comparison to a larger workforce."

"I've worked in the Grimm Office for two years, and I can promise you, the worst I've gotten is a cracked rib," Yamamoto defended. "And I've experienced even more dangerous situations when I worked by myself."

Byakuran looked as though he was struggling with his words for a moment, but then he asked, "Why did you take up demon hunting, Yamamoto? There's a world of professions to choose from, and of all things, you pick up one of the most underpaid, underfunded, unsafe choice of jobs in the world."

"And being a police officer is safe? Working as the new head of External Affairs for Alaude's Special Investigations Department is safe?" Yamamoto asked incredulously. "I'm sorry, but I don't see the merit in your argument."

"I'm being backed up by the government," Byakuran pointed out.

"The government's not going to win against something they know nothing about," Yamamoto said darkly. "And I doubt even you know much. Demonology is a completely different study, and it's something that you have to learn, contrary to popular belief."

"That's—" Byakuran started, but Yamamoto stood, a little fed up with the continuous argument his counterpart was making; what part of _dangerous_ and _completely unpredictable_ did he not understand?

"Look. You've heard about these monsters in fairy tales. Witches, vampires, werewolves, trolls, goblins, dwarves, you name it, and you've scraped through about one twelfth of the spirit population. Have you ever heard of Abaddon? Apophis? Samael? Have you ever been chased down by a Zaebos? Look," Yamamoto reached down to lift up his shirt, exposing a jagged scar the length of his forearm etched into the skin across his toned stomach.

"I had to stitch myself up after I was attacked by an Irvene; a demon dog. It took me three days to escape from the island I was trapped on and I nearly died from blood loss. Don't tell me this is a fabricated story with made up characters. Talk to me once you've looked down the end of a witch's wand and realized that she might just blow your head off with one incantation."

Byakuran stared wordlessly at the partially healed cut on Yamamoto's torso. Suddenly feeling awkward, the younger man lowered his shirt, running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"It's not as simple as you think," Yamamoto said quietly. "There are a lot of things that even Alaude doesn't know, that Reborn doesn't know. So please don't underestimate our job. There's a reason why we're specialists. We dedicated our lives to fighting against the demons that cause chaos in Overworld. An equal balance must be maintained or we'll wipe each other out."

There was a very pregnant pause, and then suddenly, Byakuran stood up and stepped over the coffee table so that he was right in front of Yamamoto, making the younger man yelp in surprise and fall backwards into the couch.

"What are you—"

Yamamoto's next words died in his throat when Byakuran leaned down and pressed his lips softly against Yamamoto's, catching the shorter man's wrists in his own large hands and pushing his hands down into the faded fabric of the couch. Caught completely off guard, Yamamoto let out a startled noise during which Byakuran flicked his tongue out and dragged it across Yamamoto's lower lip. The dark-haired man struggled reluctantly against Byakuran's hold, almost wanting to allow the taller of the two to continue kissing him, but the rational part of him won over and when Byakuran drew back to take a breath, Yamamoto said at once, "Stop."

"Work with me," Byakuran countered at once, throwing Yamamoto off.

"What?"

"Quit your job at the office," Byakuran said softly, bumping his forehead against Yamamoto's. "Come work with me at the External Affairs department."

"Are you insane?" Yamamoto asked in shock, eyes wide. Byakuran closed his, the sparkling purple irises vanishing from view.

"I'm not. You told me exactly how dangerous your job was a minute ago, and I won't stand for your risking your life every day."

"That—that's not right," Yamamoto argued back. "I can't just quit my job because it's too dangerous. What kind of work attitude would that be? Besides, there's literally _two fucking people_ that can fight against demons. With the atmosphere we're in, telling me to quit working at the Grimm Office is like tossing a lamb into a lion's den!"

"Please," Byakuran implored. "I can't lose you."

"And I'll leave London to the mercy of whatever's causing those mass killings out there? Dump my workload onto Reborn? Leave the office short a hunter? That's not happening."

The moment Reborn's name came up, Byakuran's eyes glowed, and a cross look flitted over his features. "Did Reborn tell you to not tell me that you were working?"

"You are being ridiculous right now," Yamamoto groaned, glaring up. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you involved. I'm not Reborn's lackey; I can make up my own mind!"

Suddenly, Byakuran's grip tightened a little on Yamamoto's wrists, and he said quietly, "Does that mean you care about me, at least? That you were willing to protect me from what you might encounter at work?"

Yamamoto's cheeks turned a little red, realizing what he'd just admitted to. "I—that's not—"

"Won't you just let me love you?" Byakuran whispered, almost pleading. "Takeshi, please, just—give me a chance, and I promise you I'd give it my all."

Yamamoto couldn't answer. Torn between succumbing to his feelings and standing by what he'd decided had been the best for a long time already, he just shook his head mutely, unable to respond. To his shock, Byakuran suddenly pushed him against the couch, kissing his neck softly.

"Don't—"

"You're not being fair, Takeshi," Byakuran said quietly.

"That's not what's at stake here," Yamamoto argued, pushing against the elder. "Stop that, Byakuran!"

"Not until you give me an actual answer," Byakuran shot back, fingers tracing against the scar on Yamamoto's stomach. It made the younger man's heart pound painfully against his ribcage, his knees go weak, and his breath hitch. It took all of Yamamoto's willpower to fully shove Byakuran off him, keeping the man at arm's length.

"No."

Byakuran stilled. Then, without a word, he released Yamamoto's wrists, stood up, and exited the room, grabbing his coat as he went, and the front door opened and closed without further ado. Yamamoto remained on the couch afterwards for a very long time, an unexplained pain searing through his chest that kept him up long after the sun had risen behind the dark clouds hovering over the city again.

And during that whole time, Byakuran did not come home.

* * *

><p>The next two days or so was a mess at the Grimm Office. Reborn's mood was getting worse each day, Yamamoto looked sicker each day, and Tsuna couldn't help but wonder if this case would be the end of them all.<p>

He himself was so busy with work that he hardly had time to ask around for any information about his older brother's current whereabouts. Tsuna often did lunch errands now, seeing as Yamamoto had developed a sudden interest in holing himself up at the office instead of going anywhere outside, and Reborn was stuck under piles of paperwork and never ending arguments with some Investigator who was apparently messing with their operation.

It wasn't until the three days after Reborn and Yamamoto had gone down to the police station did news about his brother came up to Tsuna.

He was out buying lunch for his coworkers at Luce's Café on a dreary Wednesday afternoon. After ordering three toasted sandwiches, a bottle of milk, a fresh espresso and a carton of juice, Luce kindly asked Tsuna to sit until his food was finished. So Tsuna turned, made to sit down, and unintentionally bumped into a light-haired man who was also making his way towards the same table.

"Oops! Sorry mister!" Tsuna said hastily, bowing low. The gentleman he'd bumped into looked rather scary. He wore a black double breasted coat, dark pants and flat shoes with a permanent scowl on his face. Tsuna was ready to leap away from this frightening person the moment he was forgiven, but the man's next words made him freeze in his tracks.

"Giotto?"

Tsuna's head snapped up at once, eyes going wide as he stared at the taller man, who wore a slightly startled expression. But when their eyes met, a frown appeared on his face and dark aura hung over him.

"My mistake," he said shortly, brushing past Tsuna, but the brunette's hand shot out, grabbing onto the elder's sleeve.

"Wait, mister!"

A terrifying look that promised a painful, bloody death appeared on the light-haired man's face, but Tsuna couldn't care less at the moment.

"Wait, mister, please, do you know anything about Giotto?"

The man's eyebrows went up. "Who are you?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice. Tsuna quaked in his shoes but said in an impressively steady voice, "My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'm Giotto's younger brother. I've been trying to look for him for the past six years. Please, sir, if you know anything about him, tell me! I need to find him!"

"Need to find him?" the man repeated, looking utterly perplexed. "Why on earth would you go looking for that man?"

"I—it's hard to explain," Tsuna fumbled, trying to find the right words. "He became ill several years ago, and part of his illness was passed onto me before he disappeared. I want to find him because I know how painful the illness is, and if he's completely infected by it, I want to find a cure for him!"

The man stared down at him and said slowly, "You've been looking for the past six years?"

Tsuna nodded. "All over Europe," he affirmed.

The man paused, pressing his lips together. "How long have you been in London?"

"About a week and a half,"

The man glared at Tsuna for a moment, glared at the ground, up at the ceiling, and then he shoved the teen into a chair, making him yelp.

"Listen, kid," the man said in a low voice that made Tsuna strain to hear him, "what I'm going to tell you right now is confidential information. I honestly wouldn't have told you even if you were Giotto's brother, but seeing as you're 'ill' as well, I think we'd better clear up this misunderstanding before something stupid happens."

"Misunderstanding?" Tsuna echoed, looking worried. The man reached into his pocket and placed something down on the table. It was a business card.

"My name is Alaude, head of the Special Investigations Unit in the London Police Force," he said. "I normally deal with high social risk criminals, but at times, I also deal with cases that fall more or less under the same category as your 'illness'. Have you heard of the Grimm Office?"

"Yes," Tsuna replied. "My brother used to work there."

Alaude gave him a strange look. "Yes, I'm aware of that. Sawada Giotto was a hunter working with the office. He and I would often cross paths during work, but neither of us conversed much. I generally dislike demon hunters, given their total disregard for rules and the amount of damage they inflict upon my city."

Tsuna winced at that. So this was the dreaded Alaude man who had been calling for about a week already.

"Six years ago, there was a sudden mass outbreak of planned, meaningful murders. I caught on quickly enough to realize that it wasn't normal killings, so naturally, the Grimm Office became involved, even though I didn't appreciate their existence much. However, the culprit of the case was quickly discovered, and the three hunters working at the office at the time set up a trap with the assistance of the Special Investigations Unit to destroy the monster. You may have already guessed who those men are; your brother was one of them, the current head of the office, Reborn, was there as well, and another man whom you may not know; Cozart Shimon, an ex-member of the old British Expeditionary Force, which has been disbanded and renamed some time ago. Those three were the ones who devised the plan to catch the demon."

Tsuna sat still, listening intently. Reborn had fought alongside his brother…and had known Cozart…so why didn't he tell him this?

"But the plan backfired."

Alaude leaned back and crossed his arms, a dark look on his face. "The demon was stronger than they had anticipated, and within moments, London's town square was in shambles and the city itself was a mass ball of chaos. However, I do credit the three hunters with the amount of effort the placed in the fight against the monster. As you may have already guessed, though, the results were brutal. Cozart Shimon was killed in the battle. Reborn survived, but was cursed. In the end, your brother, Giotto, was inflicted with the 'illness' you speak of as he and Reborn sealed the demon back into the Underworld."

"What happened to Giotto?" Tsuna whispered, shaking.

"He was…transformed. Or rather, infected with the demon's poison," Alaude said slowly. "The best way to describe it is in relation with a werewolf bite, or a vampire bite. Giotto was on the verge of turning into a demon himself when he resigned from the Grimm Office and suddenly vanished from London."

Tsuna's heart dropped like a stone. "He was going…to turn into a demon?" he asked, unable to keep his voice steady.

"That is correct. Nobody knows where he went, though through light of recent events, he may have gone home to find you, in which you were infected by the poison as well, without you knowing. However, just as quickly as Giotto had disappeared, he came back to London, seeking Reborn, almost completely transformed."

Tsuna paled horribly, clenching his hands into fists. Agony twisted in his heart when he realized exactly how much pain his brother had gone through. "So…is he in the Underworld now?" he asked softly. "Did Reborn seal my brother away?"

Alaude stopped, and for a moment, a look of regret flitted momentarily across his normally stoic expression. "Your brother isn't sealed away, Tsuna. Nor is he in the Underworld. Sawada Giotto is dead. Reborn was forced to kill him."

There was a ringing silence. Tsuna's blood ran cold. He could not believe the words he had just heard.

"He—Reborn—_what_?" Tsuna choked out; suddenly feeling like a bucket of icy water scooped up from the Thames River during wintertime had been tossed over him.

"Giotto would have branched off into the same type of demon they had originally tried to seal. Reborn could not risk having the city plagued by another monster, so he did what was necessary."

"You're a police officer…and you let this happen?" Tsuna whispered, his voice distant and strangled. Alaude looked away.

"I will tell you something that is only known by a handful of people, Reborn not included, even though it concerns him. I was the sole witness of Sawada Giotto's murder, yet, when Reborn was tried in Court for that, I refused to testify against him. Without my word, the Prosecution could not find enough evidence to convict him; which is why Reborn walks a free man today. I, on the other hand, was placed on suspension, interrogated, and given a dishonorable discharge. However, a year later, I was requested to join the Special Investigations Force given my experience with supernatural matters."

"You defended Reborn?" Tsuna asked, stunned. "Why? Why would you do that?"

Alaude looked down at the brunette, looking as though he was going over his thoughts. "Have you ever killed anybody, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"I—no, I haven't," Tsuna stammered, but his heart leapt viciously at those words, almost as though his subconscious was contradicting him.

Alaude glanced at the clock on the wall. "When I first joined the force, I had an acquaintance that I got along very well with. He was two years my junior with a kill count that had exceeded his age. However, during a mission, he was brutally injured by a roadside bomb planted by the mafia. And as he lay there, dying on the street, I knew he was in pain even though he refused to show his weak side. He was dying, and I did the next best thing for him; for his pride."

Tsuna swallowed thickly, throat dry as sandpaper. Somehow, he knew what Alaude would say next.

"I shot him, and killed him. If I had let him carry on dying, he would have been in agony right up until his last breath. If, by some miracle, he survived, then he would never be able to serve again. That, in itself, is even worse than a painful death for him. So in the process of saving his dignity, I gave up my own. The same way Reborn gave his up for your brother."

"That doesn't change the fact that he killed Giotto," Tsuna whispered.

"No, it doesn't," Alaude concluded, cold blue eyes sweeping over the brunette. "But maybe one day you'll realize what needs to be done, and what could have been avoided."

"Maybe," Tsuna said, standing on legs that felt like jelly. "But not today."

Up at the counter, Luce waved to the brunette, lifting up a large, brown paper bag with his order inside. Tsuna walked over, paid the smiling woman with a straight face, and headed for the door, pulling on his mittens as he went. But before he left, Alaude suddenly called out to him in a plain, unexpressive voice, but the choice of words left no doubt in Tsuna's mind that the Investigator would carry out his promise without hesitation.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Both your brother and Reborn are brave men; or as my colleagues would say, carnivores. You are not amongst them yet. But if you lose control of yourself and give in to the violent nature of your illness, know that I will hunt you down, and I will kill you. I will not tolerate anything that violates the discipline in London."

Tsuna turned, glancing back slowly. For a brief instant, there was a gleam of orange in the normally fair brown eyes, but the teen only said, "We'll see, Investigator," and pushed open the door of the café.

Alaude sat back in his seat, picking up the untouched business card. Turning it around so he could read the black letters imprinted on the pristine white surface, his expression darkened.

_Alaude  
>Special Investigations Unit<br>Lead Contact  
>London Police Force<em>

The card crumpled in his hands. Those words meant nothing. They were lies built up of the lives he had taken in exchange. How much more of his pride was he going to lose before he found something that made it worth keeping?

Outside, Tsuna's feet padded quietly along the cobblestones. The contents of the bag bounced together as he picked up his pace, and before he knew it, the teen was running in a full sprint against the wind, the cold, stormy weather in the sky a representation of the emotions tumbling inside his heart.

His feet slowed to a stop.

As the foretold rain started to fall from the grey clouds hovering low over the city, Tsuna tilted back his head and cried.

* * *

><p><strong>Terms:<strong>

Abaddon - King of the Demons of Hell. Also known as Apollyon (Greek).

Apophis - A serpent demon who stalks at night.

Samael - The Angel of death and the Prince of the air.

Zaebos - A demon that is part human, part crocodile.

Aaaaaand the secret's out. I feel sorry for Tsuna; but then again, I was the one who wrote the plot, so hnnn. I'm a horrible person then, aren't I?

Thank you for reading! And thank you so much for those who commented; all those little notes just made my day :'D I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-BlackStar


	6. Chapter 6

Welcome to The Grimm Office

Believe me when I say that this is the fastest I've ever written a story. I'm fairly happy about that too; given the fact that this is the first series I've written that isn't based on a movie, and yet I don't remember how this idea came to me. At first, I was really worried that I would lost my drive halfway, but I think I'm on the right track :3

**Requested:** for those who were wondering where I got my info from, it's a website, but I have no idea how to place the url on the fic. Hang with me here...I'll figure it out for you guys :'D

I generally don't go into much detail other than names in brief descriptions of the monster in my story, but I'm pretty sure there's a world of secrets involving folklore and the supernatural~ I encourage you guys to go look it up! :D

This is Chapter Six! A lot of stuff went down in Chapter Five; I think it's my favourite chapter by far. But let's carry on, shall we?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

_Do not pity the dead. Pity the living, and, above all, pity those who live without love. (__Albus Dumbledore)_

Reborn sat quietly at the dinner table, smoking a cigarette. The white wisps curled into the air in a slow, mystical dance as the stick burned steadily between Reborn's fingers. The dark-haired man watched as Tsuna wandered around the living room, apparently caught up in his own thoughts. He had been asleep when Reborn came home late from work, and had barely stirred when he finally realized that the other was back. The elder was left wondering what was troubling the brunette's mind. Usually he'd be up and about, complaining about the mess in Reborn's apartment or the lack of proper food. Something was off, and it didn't take a genius to figure it out.

Tsuna was curled up onto the couch now, staring off in the distance. Reborn dropped ash into the sink and put out his smoke with his thumb and index finger before he walked into the den, leaning down so that his shadow fell right over the teen. Tsuna's eyes widened at the sudden discolouration of light and shrieked bloody murder, leaping to his feet.

"What are you doing?" he yelped, jumping away from the taller man.

"What are _you_ doing?" Reborn shot back, staring. "Why so jumpy?"

"You scared me!" Tsuna retorted, eyes blazing.

"Well, I'm sorry you were so lost in thought you didn't even hear me come in," Reborn rolled his eyes, yawning. Tsuna watched the elder walk in and sit down on the floor, reaching into his bag to pull out a stack of papers.

"If you want to sleep, don't let me keep you up," Reborn said, turning his back on the teen. Tsuna was quiet for a moment, staring at Reborn's broad back as the man shifted through his notes, occasionally turning papers over. The elder could feel the other watch him work, but thought nothing of it.

Then, Tsuna spoke.

"Reborn, did you kill my older brother?"

Reborn stilled, his gut twisting at a sudden chill that swept through his entire body. There was a sudden unpleasant, weightlessness in his stomach, which made the dark-haired man feel sick. Forcing down a very sour taste in the back of his throat, Reborn turned around to face Tsuna, who was now sitting with his legs hanging off the edge of the couch, watching the dark-haired man with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What?"

"I said," Tsuna repeated quietly. "Did you kill my older brother?"

Reborn couldn't answer. He stared at Tsuna, at loss for words as his brain tried to catch up with the events.

"Actually," the brunette said, winding his thin fingers together. "I should rephrase that. You killed Giotto. What I want to know is…why?"

"Where did you hear this?" Reborn asked, straining to keep his voice even. This was not happening. Every memory he had of his blonde colleague; his _friend_ was suddenly threatening to burst to the surface of his mind and overthrow his sanity. Tsuna gazed up at him with emotionless eyes.

"You're answering my question with a question. That's unlike you, Reborn. Having something hidden from you is no fun, isn't it?"

Reborn's temper flared. Was the kid trying to fucking _preach_ at him?

"Where the fuck did you hear that!" he snarled, rising to his feet in a fluid motion, towering over Tsuna, refusing to acknowledge anything.

"I'm not hearing a denial, so I guess that means you don't even feel remorse for killing my brother; how interesting," Tsuna shot back, clenching his hands into fists now.

"You," Reborn growled, giving up all pretenses, "were not there. You didn't see what I saw, or what I had to fight against."

"At least admit you killed him, coward!" Tsuna shouted, jumping to his feet as well.

"Fuck it! I did kill your older brother, now what of it?" Reborn roared, losing control. "Would you rather him turn into the very thing he hunted or at least die with what was left of his honour?"

"Honour?" Tsuna repeated, "What's honourable about murder?"

"Fuck you," Reborn said coldly, shaking with rage…and something else. "Fuck you, Sawada."

"Want to know something?" Tsuna said suddenly, a dark look consuming his normally soft features. "Want to know why you didn't go to jail for killing Giotto?"

Reborn stiffened. Where on earth did Tsuna hear all this?

"_Alaude_ wouldn't testify against you," Tsuna revealed, and Reborn's stomach lurched. "Your rival is the one who saved your ass from imprisonment. He was the key to the Prosecution's victory, but he withheld information because he saw a sense of justice in the murder you committed."

The hunter didn't move. He stood stock still as wave after wave of shock crashed over him, taking in the information that had been exposed far too quickly.

"Want to know why Alaude helped you out? He _sympathized _with you," Tsuna continued coldly, "He felt bad, because he felt that he could relate to your decision of killing a partner."

"Shut up." The words were out before Reborn could stop himself, and he could tell by the look on Tsuna's face that he was doing a bad job of controlling his emotions.

"How do you feel right now? Shaken? Traumatized?" Tsuna continued, starting to look upset now. "That's how I felt. _Times ten_. You pretended that you didn't know where Giotto went, when all this time, you've had his blood on your hands, and when I asked, you _lied_."

"Stop," Reborn said in a low voice, eyes burning.

"You tried to save what was left of your shredded pride through trickery and deceit; you're no better than the scum you exorcise on the streets!" Tsuna's last words ended in a yell, which clung to the air long after he'd initiated the blow, and Reborn's expression darkened considerably when he heard it.

"Get out of my house."

"Not until I get my answers," Tsuna snapped.

"Get. Out." Reborn punctuated, his voice eerily steady.

"No."

"GET THE HELL OUT!"

"FUCK YOU, BASTARD!"

Seven years' worth of sheer instinct saved Reborn as Tsuna suddenly lunged at him, a terrifying aura emitting from the teen. Reborn's hand plunged into his jacket and just barely managed to pull his gun out to block a pair of industrialized gloved hands that had reached for his throat. "Fuck—" he snarled, tripping over a pile of paper before landing with a crash that shook the entire flat. Reborn shoved back against the inhuman force that reached for his windpipe, staring up into two glowing orange eyes pierced right through his own dark orbs.

"What the hell are you doing!" Reborn yelled, heart pounding in his chest. Something was off with the way Tsuna was acting now. The one time he'd tried to kill Reborn, the hunter had only felt a sense of defensiveness coming off the teen. At the moment, there was only two things radiation from Tsuna: pure hatred, and intent to kill.

This was the illness he'd been infected with.

This was the illness about one tenth of the amount _Giotto_ had gone through.

It was as though history was repeating itself.

Reborn lifted his leg and kicked Tsuna in the stomach, and the teen-turned-demon launched upwards onto Reborn's ceiling, gloved fingers digging into the plaster and handing upside down. The whole time, those dangerous eyes never left Reborn's face.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" the elder snarled, getting up. Tsuna tilted his head like an animal watching its prey. When he spoke, his voice was void of any type of emotion, and sounded ten times worse than Tsuna's real voice.

"You killed Giotto, Reborn. What more did you expect?"

"You underestimate the consequences that would have come along with letting your brother live. You understand nothing at all!"

Tsuna's eyes narrowed.

"What does it matter? Don't speak to me of consequences or knowledge. You're just a killer."

"I'm a _hunter_," Reborn snarled. "There's a difference!"

"Not to me," Tsuna whispered, and he kicked off from his spot on the ceiling. He crashed at full speed into Reborn, which sent the two of them tumbling backwards and smashing through the wall in a mess of dust, plaster and wood. They skidded on the tiles of the kitchen floor, a mass of tangle of limbs fighting fiercely against one another. Reborn wrestled Tsuna off him, punching the teen in the face, threw him over his shoulder and into the stove. Tsuna recovered quickly, flipping onto his left so that he slid across the counter, knocking dishes, grocery bags and cutlery onto the floor. Sounds of glass breaking and silverware hitting the ground reverberated in the room that suddenly felt like a cage.

Reborn chased after him, bending down to pull out his hunting knife from his boot as he went and leapt up onto the counter so that he could drive his shoulder into the teen's chest, sending them collapsing backwards onto the tabletop. The old table groaned in protest at the sudden weight of a grown man and a nearly grown teenager fighting on its surface. Reborn thrust the knife out in one swift movement, his opponent barely managing to catch the handle of the blade with one hand to keep Reborn from stabbing him in the shoulder. Piles of paper scattered as Tsuna's free hand scrambled to find purchase on the dented wood to take the pressure and his feet kicked against Reborn's legs.

"Don't you preach to me what justified killing is," Reborn growled as he hovered over the wild teen, applying all his weight down on the other. Tsuna snarled like a feral animal and pushed back with equal strength, legs braced on either side of him to support the load. "You're just a kid who thinks they've seen it all when they've been blindfolded by one mentality the whole time."

"You lied to me."

"You were no saint either."

"Scum!" Tsuna bellowed, finally letting go of the side of the table with his other hand to hit Reborn. While his fist made contact with the dark-haired man's ribs, his other hand weakened and the blade managed to sink into Tsuna's shoulder. Both males leapt away from each other, checking the damage. Reborn coughed a little, certain that his rib was cracked, and Tsuna pressed his gloves against the wound between his shoulder blade and collarbone, stemming the steady stream of blood. Both attacks made a mark, but were not critical.

"Look at yourself," Reborn panted, hand tightening on his knife. "Have you ever seen the expressions on your face when you succumbed to your illness? To your demon side? I'm pretty sure your victims have; but none of them are alive to tell the tale, in any case."

"I've never killed anyone before," Tsuna snarled.

"Selective memory. How nice," Reborn sneered. "I came _this_ close to death when you tried to pull off that head shot with me in the alley when we first met. If it hadn't been for Yamamoto, I would be dead, with my brains blown out and my skull burned to ash at the sheer amount of heat generated by the force of the friction created in the air by your strike. If you don't believe me, come down to the autopsy rooms at Alaude's police station sometime. I'll show you the four men you murdered."

Tsuna faltered. There was no way what Reborn said could be true. He had never killed anybody in his life; ever.

_"Hey, boy."_

Tsuna blinked, startled by a sudden recollection that seemed to have surfaced from out of nowhere in his mind.

_"__Come with us, lil' boy. __We're gonna have a little chat in the alley, hmm?"_

Four men. One with a moustache. They had daggers, metal rods, and even a pistol on them…thieves. They wanted to mug him. Tsuna knew that much, he could remember up to that point but then—

They were dead at his feet when he thought about it again. Nothing but piles of blood and ash and…

Suddenly, Reborn's face was up in his face, and Tsuna barely had time to duck as the hunting knife made a cut for his neck. The sharp blade clipped his hair, making small fluffs of brown scatter on the white floor. It made no sense. How could he kill people? How could he commit murder?

Tsuna looked down at his hands, and for a bone-jarring moment, memories flooded into his mind. The look of terror on the thieves' faces. His own hand, wearing the same silver gloves as he was wearing now, crushing their heads open with sheer force before everything caught fire from the heat as he thrust his gloved hands through the air. The emotions that boiled up inside of his chest were frightening. Hate. Anger. The will to destroy all life in his path.

_A demon,_ Tsuna's mind screamed. _You're a demon!_

Just like Giotto.

A loud crash brought the teen back to reality as he lost his footing on the mess scattered all over the floor. His hand shot out to grab at the cabinet, fingers puncturing into the wood from the power of his grip. Tsuna stared in shock. Just how strong was he?

Across the room, Reborn was pulling himself to his feet, blood trickling down his the side of his head from where he'd struck the wall. Part of the ceiling was caving in now, wood hanging limply and a support beam barely tethering to the wall threatening to come loose.

"Back from lala land?" Reborn snarled, tossing his gun aside so he could focus fully on his knife. Tsuna could deflect bullets with his bare hands; his demon side could manipulate his body to do so, even if the teen himself couldn't do it. Shooting at him would be pointless.

"Do you see now?" Reborn pressed. "There's more than one consciousness living it up inside of you. Your goal is to defeat it, not to submit to it. That's what Giotto did. He was fighting the monster inside of him with the last shreds of his humanity right up until the moment he died."

"Or rather," Tsuna said coldly, feeling blood soak through various places of his shirt, "Right up until the moment you murdered him."

Reborn's hand stiffened on the blade. "I don't pretend that what I did was right, Tsuna, but you go and kill your best friend and see how easy it is to bring the subject up at the dinner table."

The teen glared at Reborn, but said nothing. The dark-haired man gripped his weapon so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Give up the demon, Tsuna. It's going to consume you."

Tsuna flexed his fingers, the sharp, powerful glow of orange flickering like fire in the brunette's eyes. Reborn suppressed a groan, trying desperately not to lose his concentration with the half-possessed teen. It was hopeless. The brunette had lost control when he discovered the truth, and the fluctuations of his emotions were allowing the demon inside him to take over."Tsuna! Wake the fuck up!"

With a roar like an angry lion, Tsuna pounced, cutting through the air towards the hunter. Reborn tensed and raised his knife, knowing that the blade would catch Tsuna right in the neck before the brunette could cause lasting damage to him. A major vein or two might be cut open, and blood would rain down upon the two of them…and a body would fall on him, limp and slowly fading… just like it had before.

Reborn's heart stuttered in mid-beat.

There was no doubt in his heart that Tsuna would fall the same way Giotto had fallen on him, hands weakly attempting to find a stable grip on Reborn's jacket, blood staining the hunter's palms and face, light blue eyes slowly started to dim. Giotto's last whispered words meant for his shell-shocked colleague only seemed to echo in the elder's mind.

"_Thank you, Reborn._"

Burning silver hands were already pressed on Reborn's chest as he lowered the knife, his mind screaming in protest at the stupidity of his actions. But he knew he couldn't do it. He was unable to commit the same murder again.

Tsuna's eyes widened in confusion for a split second before the energy from the force of his strike transferred from his palms and into Reborn's body, sending the hunter flying backwards into the covered piano set, keys shrieking at the abuse and the man's head slamming into the solid wood. Tsuna stumbled a little as he landed, bewilderment streaking through the demonic haze of his adrenaline-fueled thoughts.

Why did Reborn lower his weapon?

There was an unexpected creaking noise on his right, and Tsuna turned his head in time to see the broken support beam snap under the strain it had been through for the past ten minutes and fall, the sharp end of the wood impaling Reborn's unconscious body.

There was a sickening crunch, and a bit of red escaped the puncture, splattering onto the timber.

Tsuna stood in a daze, eyes travelling down the piece of wood as thick as his forearm protruding from Reborn's stomach. Dark red blood was quickly pooling out onto the floor, spreading rapidly. It soaked into the papers and turned the light grey carpet a violent shade of crimson. Suddenly, it was as though all the will to fight had escaped Tsuna, and there was only one coherent thought that crossed his mind.

_What have I done?_

"Reborn?" Tsuna whispered shakily, stepping forward. There was no response. "Reborn, can you hear me?"

The dark-haired man's face was growing paler and paler by the second. Tsuna took another step and there was a small splashing sound; he was standing in a puddle of blood that had grown far too big in such a far too short amount of time. Tsuna felt an unfamiliar and uncontrollable sense of fear crash into him like freight train, and he fell to his knees in front of the dark-haired man, hands shaking in his soft, woolly mittens.

"Reborn, please, I didn't—Reborn, don't die, please, please don't die, I can't—I didn't mean to—REBORN!" Tsuna screamed, his vocal cords tearing as he wrung his hands before pressing it against the gaping wound in the hunter's abdomen, trying in vain to stem the flow. The yarn was instantly stained in red, feeling wet and hot between the teen's fingers.

"No, no, no, no, no, don't die, Reborn, please, this is my entire fault, I'm sorry Reborn, I'm sorry, don't do this, please, _please!_"

_You are not amongst them,_ Alaude's voice said in his mind, and Tsuna sobbed, tears falling down his petrified face despite knowing that he had no right to cry.

His own weakness was slowly taking away someone dear to him, and he already knew that he was helpless to stop it.

* * *

><p>Yamamoto saved them.<p>

The man had appeared a minute or so after Reborn's injury to drop off a folder that Tsuna had left behind, only to find the door blown off its hinges. Startled, the hunter had run into the room with his katana to see a stricken Tsuna covered in blood, trying desperately to save Reborn, who was lying unconscious and seconds away from death on the floor of his own apartment.

Yamamoto had managed to display a massive amount of self-control and calm despite the fact that his legs had turned into water the moment he saw Reborn's condition, and had practically dragged Tsuna off the hunter, giving him fierce instructions to find the first-aid kit in Reborn's cabinet. The brunette had complied, dazed, and returned with a small box Reborn kept in the destroyed room.

The Japanese man upturned the box in his haste, scattering the supplies on the part of the floor that wasn't covered in blood. There were bandages, scissors, gauze, needles and thread, but there were also small packets of crushed herbs, powdered bones and roots. Yamamoto wiped his hands on his coat, leaving behind a streak of red as he ripped open a pack of Blood Orchids, shredding the fine petals between his fingers and pressing it into the wound surrounding the beam.

"W-what are you doing?" Tsuna stammered, kneeling helplessly next to Yamamoto.

"Blood Orchids will give him more time," Yamamoto said shakily, "The flower helps create rapid cell division, so it'll help close up the wound, but it won't save him. I need you to help me take the wood out."

"Take it _out_?" Tsuna repeated, staring with unseeing eyes. Yamamoto grabbed the teen's shoulder and shook him sharply.

"Yes, hold Reborn's body down while I pull it out. It's not in too deep, so it probably won't make anything worse, and pull yourself together!" Yamamoto said forcefully, jolting Tsuna back to his senses. "I need you to help me right now!"

"Yes," Tsuna whispered shakily, scrambling forwards so he could press his hands on either sides of the wood.

"Hold him still, and hold him down as hard as you can," Yamamoto warned. "It's going to have to be fast."

Tsuna nodded mutely, hands shaking. Yamamoto stood up and exhaled slowly, wrapping his large hands around the support beam. He literally had his boss' life in his hands. "C'mon, Reborn," he said softly under his breath as he carefully tightened his grip on the wood. "You're a bastard, but if you think you can die on us like this, I'll _really_ kill you."

Tsuna squeezed his eyes shut, heart clenching painfully. It was his fault. He had made Reborn relive his worst nightmare. Did he even have a right to try and save Reborn's life?

Yamamoto's eyes narrowed, and in one swift movement, he yanked the appendage out of Reborn's wound. Tsuna froze as blood splattered onto his face and the body beneath his hands shuddered involuntarily. Yamamoto threw the beam aside and stripped off his coat and shirt at once, tearing his top into strips, pressing a clump onto the gaping wound before winding the longer pieces around Reborn's torso.

"Tsuna, grab me some more of the plant!"

The brunette jumped, startled, but went through the first aid box for more of the Blood Orchids. He shredded the petals and slipped them under the soaked cloth while Yamamoto kept one hand over the wound and dug through the small cartons scattered around him, spilling different herbs all over the floor. The hunter grabbed a mixture of plants and roots before placing them into his mouth and chewing, spitting a wad of ground down plants and blood before mashing it into the cell-regenerating combination.

"That's the best I can do for now," Yamamoto panted, expelling a gob of spit stained with red. "Ugh, horrible taste…" he leaned in and wrapped his arm around Reborn's upper body before hefting the unconscious man over his shoulder with a grunt.

"W-where—?" Tsuna stammered, getting shakily to his feet.

"London General Hospital," Yamamoto answered. "It's three blocks down, we have to hurry!"

Tsuna nodded, unable to speak, and followed Yamamoto as the man carried Reborn out of the apartment, into the alleyway, and out onto the empty street. The sun had just set, and the sky had turned into a hazy, navy blue. Stars were blocked by the ever-evident clouds and there was an awful wind that chilled the Yamamoto and Tsuna to the bone, neither of them having brought coats with them. But the two didn't seem to register the cold temperatures. Yamamoto had broken into a half-run down the street, disregarding any thought of saving stamina as he hauled Reborn towards the hospital with Tsuna running alongside him.

It was the longest ten minutes the two had ever felt, and with each passing second as they ran, Tsuna's heart caved a little more with guilt and remorse while Yamamoto's lungs strained and his legs burned with the effort of carrying a man weighing as much as he did. They made it to the hospital in another minute or so, bursting into the emergency room in a sweaty, frantic mess. A nurse took one look at them and screamed while a secretary paled in horror before phoning for assistance at once. A moment later, two paramedics and a doctor came out, rolling a stretcher. Yamamoto carefully lowered Reborn on it, sweat gleaming on his forehead, and the paramedics swooped in, pressing an oxygen mask to the dark-haired man's face and rolls of gauze to stem the blood flow.

Tsuna staggered against the wall, vision swimming as he watched Yamamoto argue violently with the paramedic and picking up snippets of their quarrel. The paramedic was denying Yamamoto entry to the emergency room while the hunter vehemently argued that he needed to be there to explain the effects of the herbs. Tsuna watched as Reborn was wheeled away, his heart pounding painfully in his ribcage. Yamamoto finally lost his temper and ended up punching out the paramedic, who slumped onto the ground. Yamamoto rounded to Tsuna, his voice garbled in the teen's brain.

"Tsuna! I'm going to follow them! Wait for me upstairs!"

The brunette could only nod, still leaning against the wall for support. Yamamoto ran after the doctors, chased down by two more paramedics, and a nurse approached Tsuna with several towels, directing him to a waiting room on the second floor. The brunette stumbled into the elevator after the kind woman, walked down the hall and finally arrived in a small, comfortable little room with a sofa, a coffee table with magazines and a reading lamp. The nurse pointed out a doorway down the hall.

"That's the restroom, sir, if you'd like to wash up."

A faint nod was all she got in response, and the nurse left the brunette after that, closing the door behind her with a soft _click_. The room was silent, and Tsuna stayed standing for a while, simply in shock. When his head was no longer spinning, the teen slowly walked out of the room with a towel, dropping the other two onto the sofa, and headed down to the bathroom the nurse had indicated.

The first sight that greeted him was a horrifying one. Tsuna stared at a reflection of a pale, shaking teen covered in blood. There were droplets of red all over his face and in his hair. His shirt was sodden and his hands were almost completely red. The woolly mittens felt like iron weights on his hands, soaked with Reborn's blood. Tsuna pulled them off, dropping the mitts on the floor. He undid the buttons of his shirt with an increasing pace until he very nearly ripped it in half. He yanked on the faucet. Hot water gushed out in a mass of steam and ripples. Tsuna thrust his hands into the burning liquid, washing the crimson off his hands, face, and neck. Water splashed off the side with every movement he made, landing on the floor with wet splats. The liquid in the sink turned into a deep, bloodshot colour, then a lighter red, and finally a pinkish hue, but Tsuna continued to scrub at himself until his skin felt raw with the heat and friction.

The brunette slowly shut off the water, staring up at his face as everything finally drained away with soft gurgles. There were little pools around the sink where water had run off the edges from Tsuna's frantic splashing, but he paid no mind to it. The teen simply stared at his expression in the mirror. There was a haunted, pained, terrified look on his face. He let out a shaky breath, wiping excess water off his chin as his hands burned against the cool edges of the sink. Tsuna closed his eyes, and instantly, flashbacks of his fight and the look on Reborn's face as he lowered his hunting knife burned their way through Tsuna's mind.

Regret rose up in him like a tidal wave, and before the brunette could stop himself, he was vomiting violently into the sink, the sour stomach acids mixing with the last of the water draining away. Tsuna hurled, coughing a little as he emptied his stomach into the basin. He shook like a leaf in a hurricane; his legs trembling with the effort of standing, and when there was but dry heaving, the brunette finally raised his hand to wipe his face, fingers quivering against his damp skin. Watery brown eyes locked on to the glassy ones in the mirror, and before Tsuna could stop himself, his fist made contact with the smooth surface. Glass exploded everywhere and cut into his knuckles, and Tsuna screamed until his throat was hoarse, dragging his hand back and back again. He punched the wall and the other mirrors, hating the sight of himself until he collapsed to his knees, falling to the cold tiles and just laid there, tears running down his face.

_What have I done?_

_What have I done?_

_What have I fucking done?_

Tsuna shuddered, curling up into a ball. He'd let his emotions run away with him, and he'd completely lost control. Now, the consequence of his actions was lying on a stretcher a floor below, barely clinging to life. Reborn couldn't kill him. The man had seen Giotto in Tsuna since their first meeting. Tsuna shivered, breath coming out in constricted sobs. He didn't know how long he stayed on the ground in a mass of guilt and regret, but when the bathroom door banged open and a hand shot out to grab the front of his undershirt, Tsuna found himself face to face with a pair of steely blue eyes and a familiar glare.

"Seeing as you've created such a huge amount of damage to my city's property, I am more than willing to haul you down to the police station and let you rot in a cell."

Tsuna stared, hanging limply against the iron-like grip on him, confusion etched on his face. "What are you doing here?" he whispered, voice cracking.

"We have an issue." Alaude stated simply. "An issue that made _me _search for Reborn for help, but seeing as he's half dead downstairs, I'll have to make do with the next herbivore; you."

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked blankly. "What issue?"

"There's been an uprising," Alaude said calmly. "Demons are making their way to London as we speak."

Tsuna's jaw went slack as he gazed up at the Investigator in horror. "Demons? Coming to London? There's going to be an invasion?"

"No," Alaude corrected grimly. "It's not going to be an invasion."

Tsuna stared.

"It's going to be a war. And if we don't do something about this soon, London will be leveled before the sun rises tomorrow morning."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>Blood Orchids aren't really folklore plants, but I needed a healing type of plant so I subbed it in. It's a fictional plant from a movie.

I really like Rammstein. I mean, really, really, _really_ like Rammstein. I'm still relatively noob to the fandom, but it's okay. Their music is so asdfghjkl;. It kinda reminds me of the genre Visual Kei, but that's Asian. I have a thing for really dramatic music, hnnn. Just thought I'd share.

I floated a bit in this chapter. I tried my best to show Tsuna's confusion. He's really upset that Reborn killed Giotto, but at the same time, deep down, he knows that it couldn't have been helped. He's only nineteen in the story; Tsuna's got a long way to go :')

Thank you for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. For all of you who commented, you made my day :'3 I'm glad you guys are liking this story~ I promise to work hard!

-BlackStar


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome to The Grimm Office

Today, while working at my local community center, one of the kids from my fun camp saw my 'No Racism' button and told me they knew that racism was very bad. He then proceeded to teach the rest of my group why racism is a terrible thing while we were having snack time. The boy is five. I have renewed hope for society's future. :')

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven<p>

"What is this?"

The redhead sitting at the desk near the far end of the room looked up at the sound of his colleague's irritated voice, only to yelp in surprise and duck for cover under his desk as a plastic cup flew over, smashing into the wall and spilling its contents all over the floor.

"Reborn! What the hell!" the man yelled, scrambling away from the hot liquid that was now seeping towards his chair.

"That's my line, Cozart," Reborn sneered, kicking his chair back and taking a seat. The dark-haired man rummaged through his brown paper sack, taking out a toasted ham and Swiss sandwich. "I told you to get get espresso, not black coffee."

"I fail to see the difference," Cozart retorted dully, rolling his eyes for good measure. A second later, he yelped again as he dove for cover again. A letter opener skimmed over the brilliant red locks before it embedded itself into the wall, quivering ominously.

"Reborn! You bastard!"

"You know it," Reborn smirked.

"Stop it, you two. How old are you guys, three?"

From the opposite end of the room, near the doors, a tall blonde man with baby blue eyes looked up with an expression similar to a parent scolding a misbehaving child.

"Close, but you're off by about sixteen years," Reborn shot back. "Stop talking like my father; it sounds bloody awful."

"I doubt I've hit mid-life crisis yet," the blonde replied smoothly, picking up his cup of tea. "And in any case, don't tell me I sound like your father; I'd hate to have a kid like you."

As Cozart roared with laughter, Reborn glared darkly and said sarcastically, "Ha ha ha, that was fantastic, Giotto."

"You know it," Giotto answered, grinning. Reborn grumbled something and went back to his lunch. The office was pleasantly quiet for several following minutes. Sunshine peeped in through the gaps in the blinds. It was another warm, sunny day, and the streets of London were crowded with street vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, sugar toffees and ice cold drinks. The sounds of children playing floated up with the wind. The atmosphere was light and welcoming.

"Say, is anybody going to drop by to Miss. Arkinson's this afternoon? She's still bugging us about the ghoul in her attic," Cozart said, reading over a report from the mounds of paper on his desk.

"No," Reborn and Giotto said together.

"I thought we deduced that the so-called 'ghoul' was actually her tabby cat," Giotto said, frowning.

"We did." Reborn said shortly.

"So then why…?"

"She's single," Reborn interrupted pointedly, and there was a moment of silence hanging over the two other demon hunters.

"Ahh," Cozart said, realization dawning on him. "Well. That explains loads."

"Indeed," Giotto chuckled dryly. "Tricky customers we have here."

"Either burn that report or feed it to the swamp monster, Cozart," Reborn called over, not even bothering to look up from his own pile of work. "There are more important things to worry about than her demonic cat. That thing is a piece of work straight from Underworld."

"Scratches not healed yet?" Giotto guessed, hiding a smirk.

"Burn in hell, Gio."

"There's a message from our dear friend in the police force," Cozart interrupted before the Reborn could throw something at the blonde. "There's a meeting down at the station before we move out the day after tomorrow, and he wants at least one of us to attend."

"Burn _and_ feed that one to the swamp monster," Reborn said at once. "I'm not going anywhere near that prick."

"You could make an effort to stay civilized at the very least," Giotto commented, rolling his eyes. "I refuse to play mediator again. You guys are the worst when you fight."

"Speaking of fighting," Cozart said mildly, "I've got a feeling that this case is going to be a big one. How doing another one of our friendly gambles, hmm?"

"Twenty pounds on Giotto getting hit first," Reborn said at once. Giotto pouted, sticking out his lower lip in annoyance.

"Twenty pounds on Reborn breaking the first bone."

"Ten on Giotto getting the first kill," Cozart joined in, smiling.

"Fifteen on Cozart getting the second," Giotto grinned, leaning back in his seat.

"Now you're just teaming up against me," Reborn complained, watching the other two snickering at him. "Fine," he retorted, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. The other two mimicked him, taking out their wallets and shelling out their bets. The hunter's fingers brushed against a folded piece of paper, a cigarette, and then, to his surprise, a lonely one pence that was probably left over from the change he'd gotten the other day. Smirking, Reborn placed the coin on his desk with a small _clack_, catching the attention of his two colleagues. Giotto and Cozart both narrowed their eyes in amusement, wondering what their friend would try to pull off next.

"One pence," Reborn said with a smile, "on me being the last one standing."

* * *

><p>He opened his eyes.<p>

For a moment, he could still feel the sunshine of a warm Sunday afternoon streaming through an office window and hear the distant laughter of children playing outside in the background, but then he turned his head, and everything faded from him.

Reborn groaned quietly in pain, feeling as though his chest was on fire. His stomach burned, felt empty, and felt as though a chainsaw had been stabbing him repeatedly for the last week or so. His head throbbed madly, like someone had taken a sledgehammer and had been pounding on the inside of his skull nonstop. His fingers twitched against stiff white sheets that felt far too constricting around him and the smell of disinfect and blood burned his nostrils every time he inhaled. His head was swimming, still disoriented from his dream about Cozart and Giotto.

Reborn stopped shifting on his bed, his exhausted body gratefully accepting the short period of rest.

A dream.

He hadn't had a single one since _that_ day six years ago.

There was a strange emotion that was building up inside of him now, but Reborn couldn't really place his finger on it. Was it regret? Confusion? Uncertainty? He hated it when he couldn't stay in control. Wasn't that why everything fell apart that day?

"Self-pity is not your forte, Reborn," a voice said to his right.

Reborn stiffened, turning his head slowly towards the sound even though his body screamed in pain. Alaude was sitting in the plastic chair next to his bed with his entire uptight attitude, a cold glare burning holes into his bedspread, arms crossed and leg tapping impatiently on the side of the bed.

"It's about time you woke up. You made me wait for five hours in this annoying, cramped, smelly room. You owe me."

"…fuck…off…" Reborn said quietly, unable to even raise his voice against the man. It was annoying as hell, not being able to cuss Alaude off, but at the moment, the hunter was feeling worse than shit. He groaned again, breath fogging up the oxygen mask. To his surprise, Alaude reached over and pulled the annoying plastic device off his face.

"It's no use to me if I can't hear you speak," the light-haired man said coolly, tossing the mask into the trash bin. Reborn rolled his eyes. Apparently the light-haired man didn't care if he suffocated, which wasn't all that surprising. "Don't give me that look, you herbivore, I've got enough problems as it is, so don't you add your attitude block into my list of things to destroy."

Reborn glowered, but the normal effect of his glare was halved when he launched into a hacking cough, making blood steep through the stitches on his abdomen. It was amazing enough that he woke up after a couple of hours, but Alaude snickered quietly.

"So the kid nearly did you in. I'm amused by that."

That caught the injured man's attention at once, his expression blazing with irritation and disbelief. Alaude snorted. "What? Surprised that I know? You're so predictable. If it makes you feel any better, though, I wrangled the whole story out of the brat a while ago while he was getting his knuckles patched up downstairs. He's got the self-pitying thing figured out, I tell you. He was a mess when I found him in the bathroom upstairs."

Reborn said nothing, but what was left of his stomach rolled uncomfortably. Tsuna was here? And Alaude knows what happened? He couldn't tell which was worse.

"So, I'm here to relay some news," Alaude said calmly, brushing a bit of dust off his coat. "I found out about five hours ago that there's a mass of demons that are travelling into London. My most recent report states that they'll arrive shortly after sunrise, which is—" Alaude shook back his sleeve, checking his silver watch, "—about two hours from now, at approximately 6:32 am. It's estimated that about a hundred and fifty enemies are making their way into the city, so the chances of our survival if they hit are, as much as I hate to admit, less than two percent." Alaude sat back in his chair, redirecting his gaze up to the ceiling. "So here I am, sitting in your hospital room where you are _hopefully_ dying a painful and pitiful death to ask you this: what can we do to save London?"

If Reborn hadn't twisted his head around to see Alaude's lips form those words, he would have probably thought that he'd actually died and re-formed in a parallel universe. But, seeing as the pain in his stomach was equivalent to the feeling of being gored multiple times by a dull knife and Alaude was incapable of making a joke, he concluded that the situation was real. And if Alaude was actually asking him for help, then they were either in or going to be in really, really, _really_ deep shit. He processed the information at once; his brain immediately jumpstarting into high gear and selecting the best battle plan. Just because he had been speared by a piece of wood several hours ago didn't mean that his brain was damaged.

"…Yamamoto."

"The herbivore is also downstairs," Alaude said at once. "He's waiting for the kid. Byakuran is heading over to see him as we speak."

"…tell Yamamoto…to prepare…a seal…"

"That's all? A seal?" Alaude said, eyes narrowing. "It sounds too easy."

"…_stupide_(1)…seals have…varying strength…Yamamoto will…know."

Alaude's temper flared up at once, not at all appreciating the fact that he was just insulted by his first language, but apparently the threat of demons flattening his city proved to be of greater importance. Scowling, he stood up and went for the door. "_Entendu,_ _bâtard _(2). Now either heal quickly or die faster. I hate people who linger aimlessly inbetween."

The light-haired man received no answer from the other, but the heart monitor continued to confirm the hunter's steady heartbeat. Disappointed that the hunter still wasn't dead, Alaude walked over to the door and had already rotated the silver doorknob when Reborn spoke, his tired voice still managing to string most of his sentence together.

"Who did you give up your pride for, Alaude?"

Alaude's hand slipped a little on the smooth knob, momentarily thrown off by Reborn's straightforward question. There was silence in the hospital room for a couple of seconds, which was pretty much an admittance of understanding from the light-haired man's part, given the fact that he didn't need to ask for clarification. He understood exactly what Reborn was asking, and that kind of knowledge only comes with a similar experience. But, as quickly as the moment had come around, Alaude had regained his composure, shooting the dark-haired man a steely look over his shoulder.

"_Non capisco, amico. Mi Scusi._(3)"

The door opened, closed, and Reborn was left in the room by himself, sinking into the pillow as his torso gave another throb.

"_Menteur_…(4)"

* * *

><p>Yamamoto was sitting in the waiting room, slightly dazed, exhausted, and worried sick. He'd went upstairs to the room, only to find an irritated Alaude shove Tsuna past him into the elevator, claiming that the herbivore needed treatment for shock and for Yamamoto to stay put, lest he wanted to be bitten to death. So here he was, sitting on the edge of the couch for a couple of hours already, worn out from the after effects of a huge adrenaline rush, yet still unable to fully calm down. Yamamoto couldn't relax, not when there was still no news about his boss and Tsuna hadn't come back up either. For how long he sat, unresponsive, he didn't know, but when the door clattered open, Yamamoto jumped up, half-expecting either the brunette or Alaude to walk back in.<p>

Who he didn't presume to see was Byakuran.

For a moment, both of them stared at each other, jaws hanging slack at the unexpected appearances, but when Yamamoto moved back to sit down, feeling awkward, Byakuran suddenly leapt forwards, grabbing Yamamoto's arm, making the black-haired man freeze in his tracks.

"Takeshi! What on earth happened to you?"

"Huh?" Yamamoto responded oh-so intelligently, confusion on his face. Byakuran's expression was one of absolute horror.

"You're covered in blood! What in the name of heaven were you doing?"

"Uh—this isn't mine, uh, it's, uhmm—"

Byakuran 'tsked' softly, suddenly pushing Yamamoto so that he would sit down on the sofa. He kneeled down in front of the younger man, reaching into his pocket to pull out a packet of tissue. He carefully wiped away at the dried blood on Yamamoto's face, his fingers brushing by the soft skin with the utmost care. Yamamoto sat still as a statue, not trusting himself to move. He felt embarrassed, like a child who needed their parent to clean off the remains of what they'd been doing for them.

But Byakuran said nothing, simply clearing off the crimson until all the tissues were spent and resting in a mess in the garbage can in the corner. Yamamoto glanced down at his undershirt, stiff with dried blood, and winced a little. His hands were still red; his pants had splatters and droplets all over them from when he carried Reborn to the hospital. Without looking, he knew that his shoulder and back had probably met the same fate.

"Are you alright?"

Yamamoto turned his attention back to the white-haired man, nodding. "I'm okay," he said quietly. "Thank you."

Byakuran nodded, brushing his hands off, and then he got up and sat down next to Yamamoto. "What happened?" he asked softly. "Alaude phoned me when he found the Sawada kid and told me to come."

"It's—it's complicated," Yamamoto said slowly, trying to sort out his thoughts. "I went over to drop off a folder Tsuna forgot at the office and I found the front door blown off its hinges. When I walked into the apartment, the place was _fucked_. The walls were broken, the ceiling was almost falling in and there was stuff everywhere, like there had been a fight going on. Reborn was lying in the back with a support beam stuck in his abdomen and Tsuna was freaking out over him."

Byakuran said nothing, but in that moment, he couldn't help but feel rather sorry for Reborn. That sounded incredibly painful.

"I was—I was so scared that I almost lost it right there, you know? Of all people, I couldn't believe that Reborn would be lying there like that, bleeding out on the floor. But when I saw Tsuna there, I knew I had to do something, but it—it—"

Yamamoto's words died in his throat and he shuddered helplessly. Byakuran immediately pulled his coat off, placing it around the other's shoulders. Yamamoto looked up, confused, but then his expression melted into one of gratitude, and he slid his arms into the sleeves. Byakuran carefully placed an arm around the younger's shoulders, hesitant at first, but Yamamoto leaned gratefully into the embrace. The two of them sat together, comforted by each other's warmth. Minutes ticked by in silence until Yamamoto quietly said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Byakuran asked, surprised.

"I…for lying the last time we talked."

Byakuran's heart leapt at those words. Yamamoto ducked his head, the smallest of blushes dusting across his face. "I…maybe in the light of recent events, I realized how quickly some things can be lost…so I think I owe you an explanation."

The white-haired man stared, bemused. "What are you talking about?"

Yamamoto raised his hands and pressed them to his face, looking tired. "I…when I was younger, my mother taught me a lot about the supernatural beings of this world. She was one of the biggest reasons why I went into this field. My mother…was amazing. She was the bravest, smartest, most daring person I ever knew."

"Was?" Byakuran repeated, not liking where the conversation was heading.

"My parents…divorced when I was eight. Not long after, my father and I received news that my mother had died. I was shocked; disbelieving. I didn't think that my mother would leave us like that. I was angry at her, but my father always told me that she did it for our safety. I never understood it, but when I was eighteen, a couple of years after I started seriously working in the field of demon hunting, I finally realized why my mother left us, and why my dad never held it against her."

"What happened?" Byakuran asked softly.

"A set of higher-intelligence demons found my father…and they…they killed him. It was revenge against me, because I had exorcised a huge portion of their sister clan. It was then I realized that my relation with my father that had caused his death. I finally understood why my mother left us; the case she had taken proved to be too much of a threat against her family. So she chose to leave us in order to protect us, and die alone. It was a horrible way to learn this, but I never forgot that lesson. So, when I…when I fell in love with you…I was terrified that you'd be taken away from me as well. So I tried to push you away, to distant myself from you. I'm sorry, Byakuran. I hope you understand why I just can't be with you—"

"So you're going to be like your mother?" Byakuran interrupted.

"What?"

"You wish to distant yourself from anything that you think you would inflict harm upon, like your mother? Are you going to die alone and misunderstood? Is that how you want it to be?"

"I—no, of course not—"

"_Then have a little faith in me_," Byakuran pleaded, taking Yamamoto's hands into his own. "Believe me, and trust that I can take care of myself. What's life without a little risk? If something truly means everything to you, then you shouldn't let anything stand in your way. Nothing, do you understand?"

"I can't lose you!" Yamamoto shot back, looking desperate. "Do you know how many times I've had nightmares about losing you because I wasn't careful enough? How scared I was when I woke up? I can't risk that, Byakuran. I can't."

"If you're scared about losing me, then don't let go," Byakuran said firmly, giving Yamamoto's hand a squeeze. "Do you hear me, Takeshi? Don't let go."

Yamamoto sat, feeling Byakuran's hand warming against his own. His family was dead because of the very thing Byakuran was proposing for; to be in relation to one another. Did he dare to take that same chance that had failed him one too many times already…?

"Takeshi," Byakuran implored softly, and Yamamoto's walls broke down. Nodding his head, he gave a hesitant squeeze back; a small smile worming its way onto his face. To his shock, Byakuran tackled him at once, sealing their lips together in a fierce kiss that Yamamoto finally allowed himself to enjoy. Byakuran pushed him further down into the couch, and his new boyfriend wrapped his arms around the taller man's neck, pulling him even closer. They relished in the long-awaited warmth of each other's hold, and Yamamoto finally realized exactly how much he'd wanted this.

Suddenly, the door banged open, and they jumped apart in shock to see Alaude and Tsuna standing in the doorway. Alaude rolled his eyes and glared at them, stalking in and snapping, "Get a room, herbivores."

The other three occupants exchanged looks, all refraining from telling the annoyed Frenchman that the lovebirds were already in a room. Alaude plowed on, as though he didn't hear the awkward pause.

"So, I've visited our ailing friend," Alaude said shortly, shooting Tsuna a look. The brunette paled, cradling his bandaged hands together before shutting the door behind him. "And he's given the herbivore in denial instructions—" Yamamoto winced at the description, "—in which a seal should be prepared. I suggest that you lot should get started on this right now, seeing as we have less than an hour before an attack commences."

"A seal…" Yamamoto said slowly, pressing his lips together. "I know one that should work. I can't keep the demons out forever, but it should be strong enough to restrain them for a day or so. That could buy us time to clear out London's citizens and devise a sort of plan at the very least."

"What kind of seal is it?" Byakuran asked.

"An earth-type seal. It draws energy from the soil and the still-life around it and expels the energy collected to repel any dark forces."

Alaude listened for a few moments, and then he said shortly, "If that's what you have in mind, hurry up and do it."

"Alright," Yamamoto said quickly, standing up. "I-I have materials in the office."

"I'll go with you," Byakuran said at once. "Uhm, if that's okay with the boss—"

"What about you, brat?" Alaude said calmly. Tsuna jerked in the light-haired man's direction.

"W-what about me?" Tsuna stammered, bloodshot eyes looking down.

"Are you going to mope around like a herbivore or do something about all the trouble you've caused?" Alaude threatened smoothly. Tsuna paled even more, and he answered quietly, "I'll help."

"That's what I thought," Alaude said mildly, turning on his heel. "If I find that your seal has failed, I'll personally destroy every one of you for ruining my city."

With one last glare that promised a very, very painful death to those who failed him, Alaude swept out of the room, leaving behind two demon hunters and a police officer awkwardly standing in the background.

"Well…" Yamamoto said weakly, "shall we?"

* * *

><p>The marshlands surrounding the quiet city of London were chilly and foggy, more than often covered with either wet mud or a haze that hung unnaturally over the entire geological location. During this time of year, toads and other swamp animals could usually be heard, but tonight, there was hardly a whisper of wind amongst the rushes and cattails growing limply in the murky waters. There was a gurgling sound as a common swamp monster surfaced, its slimy skin popping with smelly boils and its big yellowed eye blinking innocently as it glanced around, taking in the ominous atmosphere. Then, barely a moment later, a shadow swooped down over the surface of the swamp and the monster vanished.<p>

A mass of swirling blackness was crawling over the marshland like a cloud going fast with the wind. It twisted and writhed like a kite flying in high winds, but the occasional gleam of red and a flash of sharp fangs indicated that this inky swarm was no mere shadow passing along with the wind.

The demons were arriving at London.

They flew at breakneck speeds, blowing through the empty road leading into the city. As they near the iron-wrought gates, trees bent down to the force of their movements, grass greyed and frosted over, weeds shrunk down in fear and small animals scrambling about the bushes froze, petrified at the sheer amount of unearthly presences aiming for the sleepy city. The demons hissed together, the thought of man-flesh making them giddy and the possibility of mass destruction filling their minds. In the center of the mass was the largest, most powerful demon, calmly plunging forwards like a tidal wave surging up to the shores of a beach, where a lonely sandcastle stood undefended against the attack.

They were so very close. As the sun peeked over the horizon and a tiny glimmer of yellow light brought a lighter shade to the clouds, the demons rushed up to the gates, their maws stretched open, fangs shining with the hopes of devouring humans—

—and promptly crashed head on into a giant, invisible barrier. A whitish haze stretched like a piece of plastic wrap being pulled over far too much food, popping and elongating. The demons writhed against it like zoo animals yanking on their chains, and then, they were thrown back like pebbles being fired from a slingshot. The force of the shot shook the demons like leaves, in which many ended up dropping the remains of their last meals from their mouths onto the cobblestone path and the grassy patches surrounding the gate. A single, slimy, yellowed eyeball fell with a _plop_ smack in the middle of the entrance.

"Ugh," Byakuran said, watching eye juice ooze out of the eyeball. "Where is that from?"

"A swamp monster, I guess," Yamamoto answered through gritted teeth. The man's hands were splayed over a circle drawn on the stones in chalk. A greenish haze was rising from the herbs placed all around the outer edge of the circle, and a complicated symbol in the middle was burning in blazing emerald flames. The seal had worked; the demons were thrown back and would most likely not be able to enter the city for another twenty-four hours or so. Yamamoto sat back, wiping sweat off his forehead as he squinted at the barely visible sunrise.

"This should hold. We'd better go back to the hospital and talk with Reborn."

Tsuna looked away at those words, shivering slightly. He felt sick. Unfortunately, Yamamoto noticed, and he walked over, giving Tsuna a friendly shake on his shoulder.

"Hey, c'mon, Tsuna, it'll be okay. Reborn's a tough guy, you know? It'll take more than that to kill him off."

Tsuna swallowed a lump in his throat, nodding slowly. Yamamoto sighed and dusted his hands off. Somewhere in the distance, a massive black cloud could be seen slowly growing bigger and bigger.

"We're off to a good start," Byakuran assured them. "Let's go back."

The three men fell into step with each other as they gathered their things, heading back to their allies in an attempt to create a battle plan suitable for their war. Tsuna gulped, feeling the pressure.

London's fate rested on their shoulders. Should any one of them fall, so would their city, and everything else they wanted to protect.

* * *

><p><strong>Language Lessons 101:<strong>

Stupide: stupid

Entendu, bâtard: Understood, bastard

Non capisco, amico. Mi Scusi: I do not understand. Excuse me.

Menteur: liar

Number 3 is Italian. The rest are French. This is from Google translate because I don't speak a word of French or Italian myself. I remember getting a 52% in academic gr 9 _français_. Not the nicest memory, and eventually, I gave up the subject entirely. Google will remain my best friend in the area of langue barriers. I chose to include a little bit of language diversities because I wanted to show that, despite their differences, Alaude and Reborn understand each other more than they'd like to admit.

**Currency****:** _pounds_ and _pence _are Britain's currency. 100 pence = 1 pound. So, being the Canadian here, it's like 100 pennies = 1 dollar. When Reborn bets the one pence that he's the last once standing, he had no idea that that bet would be the only one he'd win.

Well, there wasn't a lot of action in this chapter, but I wanted a 10080 moment and a chance for Yamamoto to kinda redeem himself, haha. Of course, that doesn't mean I've forgotten about our dear Reborn and Tsuna. They're coming up, I promise.

Thank you for reading! Comments are very much appreciated –heart-

-BlackStar


	8. Chapter 8

Welcome to The Grimm Office

I worry excessively over small things. Is it just me? I hope not. In other news, I recently received a oneshot as a White Day gift, kyaaaaa~ I'm so happy! :3 It's my OTP too, 8018. Thank you, **kikyokyoyahibari**. I loved it.

So, this is Chapter Eight. Thank you for taking the time to read!

Random Song of the Day: Clap; Teen Top.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight<p>

_If we don't end war, war will end us. (H.G. Wells)_

By mid-morning, the sleepy citizens of London were marching along the cobblestone streets, some yawning, some confused, many more were annoyed and indignant, but most just walked along, holding the hands of their children or family members, dressed warmly for the chilly end-of-November weather. Bags, suitcases and rucksacks hung on their shoulders as the adults shuffled along, about a week's worth of clothes shoved hastily into the bulging bags. Police officers hung around the edges of the streets, ushering people out of their houses, assisting with the old and helping mothers carrying young children wherever they can. Other stood by, urging people to walk faster and issuing warnings to those who did not comply. All over the city, flimsy flyers hung on the walls, in shop windows, and on lampposts, their huge, freshly inked red words all announcing the same thing:

Warning: toxic spill near the Southern Factories. All citizens of London are hereby ordered to evacuate the city for urgent safety issues until further notice.

Reborn watched the mass walking along the streets from his window, smoking a cigarette. He didn't open his window, so the smoke filled the room with a warm, ash-scented cloud. If the nurses or doctors had smelled or noticed any sign of his cancer stick, they didn't come up to tell him off. They probably thought that he was still dying on his hospital bed, but Reborn was far from being dead. In fact, the man was sitting up at the moment, leaning against a pillow. He was healing at an alarmingly abnormal rate, thanks to the assistance of a special doctor that he'd told Yamamoto to call in several hours ago when the man came back from making the seal.

The floor of the room was a mess; a large piece of tarp was considerately spread over the smooth tiles, and on top of the sheet were nearly half a dozen pedestals, all filled with various types of mythical plants that had been ground down into powder or a mushed-up, sticky wet mess. The bandages of Reborn's wounds had been dressed seven times in the past four hours, with a new dosage of healing medication applied every time. So far, the hole in his abdomen had taken on the appearance of a week-old wound, but the internal organs were still healing. Lying on the nightstand next to the bed was a tall glass of some greyish coloured liquid, speckled with flecks of green, black, and white. About five other empty glasses were piled up on the floor next to the nightstand, all of its contents devoured.

Reborn leaned over slightly to pull the blinds shut, disliking the view he had. The wound protested slightly, but it no longer caused him such large amounts of pain that he felt the need to pass out every time he moved or even fucking _breathed_, damn it.

"_I need to be able to get up and fight by tonight, Mukuro, so make it work."_

_The tall young man seated on the floor by his bed scowled at the injured man through thick-framed glasses as he ground the magical herbs in his bowl. "Oya, oya, I'm not a miracle worker, Reborn. This stuff will help you heal over quickly, but any excessive amount of force could open the wound up again. Why don't you sit out this time?"_

"_Why don't you sit out this time?" Reborn mimicked irritably, purposefully knocking his gun off the nightstand so that it fired, shooting a bullet into the ceiling. Mukuro jumped back, yelping. "What the hell! I'm working to save your sorry ass here!"_

"_I don't need saving," Reborn shot back, turning his head to silence his hacking cough. "I just need a pick-me-up."_

"_Whatever," Mukuro said, used to Reborn's attitude. He used his foot to push the gun out of the way as he measured out the correct amount of powder, skilled enough to do it by eye; literally one eye. The 'doctor' had lost his other one in an accident involving a lot of glass, a road trip, and a mass amount of Moko-Titi being slaughtered because they accidentally knocked over a flask Mukuro was using to brew his food in._

_Long story short, Mukuro was a demon hunter who practiced a rather unorthodox type of medical treatment and asked no questions regarding certain injuries. Reborn didn't ask about certain hobbies one partakes either, so they get along fairly well._

"_Done," Mukuro said with flourish, pouring the last bit of powder into the rounded vase (the fake flowers had been brusquely dumped into the trash bin near the door) and set the huge bowl down near Reborn's table, covering it with a napkin. "It might smell funny for a little bit, but don't worry, it's just stewing. Drink it once every half hour or so, and don't reuse the glass. It's just…unhygienic. Kinda. Well, whatever. I have other patients to attend to, so adios, amigo."_

_Reborn rolled his eyes and pulled his blanket up to his chest. "Thanks. Now get out so I can take a nap. Who should I give my payment to?"_

_Mukuro paused, thinking it over. "Hmm. Ken and Chisuka aren't in Britain at the moment, and if I recall, you don't like M.M—" Reborn made a noise that sounded suspiciously like 'bitch!' "–so just transfer you money to Chrome. My younger sister," he said, noticing Reborn's questioning look._

"_You have a sister?"_

"_One and only," the blue-haired man replied._

"_I pity her," Reborn commented openly, smirking. _

_Mukuro scoffed, reaching of his coat and his bag. Just before he left, he paused by the doorway, glancing oh-so slightly over his shoulder at the dark-haired man lying on the bed. "Reborn…what were you doing?"_

_Reborn pursed his lips. "I was fishing in the dark and I fell onto the pole."_

_Mukuro stared at him, giving Reborn one of his do-you-think-I'm-an-idiot look. Reborn shrugged, wincing a little in pain. The blue-haired man huffed a little, but didn't press any further, which satisfied the injured demon hunter greatly. Mukuro was annoying in every other aspect except for his policy of not questioning his patients. _

"_Well, better luck with your catch next time."_

"_Thanks," Reborn called out as the door swung shut. "Won't be needing it."_

He wondered if Mukuro was leaving the city like the rest of the people were…meh, he probably wasn't. The man undoubtedly had a lab or two set up in those blasted factories, so he would know that the warning was false. Trust Alaude to come up with an excuse like that. Reborn finished the rest of his cigarette and stubbed it out on his nightstand, burning the wood. He reached for the drink, downing the ashen-coloured contents in one burning gulp, tasting something leafy, sweet and inexplicably, kiwi. Reborn coughed a little, feeling the medicine burn its way down his throat and into his stomach, where the slight pangs and tingling indicated that the potion was working. Reborn leaned over to place the glass down, wondering if he should take another nap. There was no need for him to listen in to the others' planning; he didn't work well with plans. He could just jump in wherever and kick ass. He wasn't the strongest demon hunter in Europe for nothing.

Something bumped against the closed door, and Reborn looked up, raising his eyebrow. There were muffled voices, as though two people were arguing, and then, the door flew open and Tsuna came flying in, crashing into the end of Reborn's bed with a terrorized yell. Alaude's head poked into the room momentarily, which was a moment too long for the dark-haired man, smirked devilishly and left, slamming the door behind him. Tsuna sat up on the floor, rubbing his forehead as he yelled out in frustration, "ALAUDE, YOU'RE A BASTARD!"

Reborn looked on, slightly amused, and slightly unnerved at Tsuna's sudden appearance. The last time he'd seen the teen, the boy had his orange eyes on him, hands reaching out to kill him. But it looked as though the brunette was back to his normal self. And Tsuna looked absolutely worse for wear.

He was only in his undershirt, which was splotched with blood that was already turning a dark brown colour. His hands were heavily bandaged, his face was pale, there were bags under his eyes and he looked as though he might throw up at any given moment. Reborn watched the teen sit on the floor, rubbing his hands weakly. An awkward silence had fallen over the room. Tsuna kept his back to Reborn, deliberately avoiding him, which was pretty obvious. The hunter couldn't help but frown, disliking the fact that he couldn't see Tsuna's face. For some reason…he really wanted to see those chocolate brown eyes. He wanted to make sure that they weren't that fierce, burning orange that almost killed him.

The silence stretched on to the point of going beyond awkward to highly uncomfortable.

Tsuna was squirming on the floor, still rubbing his forehead. Reborn noticed the teen slowly edging his way towards the door, probably in hopes that the hunter wouldn't notice, so he huffed audibly and said calmly, "Tsuna."

Predictably, the teen froze up as though Reborn was a Chemosit had spotted him for its evening meal. Slowly, craning his neck, Tsuna twisted around to fix his gaze at a spot next to Reborn's nightstand. "Y-yes…?"

Thought their eyes did not meet, Reborn quietly let out a sigh of relief at the fact that the wide, fearful orbs were very much their normal chocolate brown. Tsuna shuddered as though a drafty wind had sailed through the room, to which Reborn prompted the question "You cold?" even though he knew that it had nothing to do with the temperature.

"No…" Tsuna mumbled, looking down.

"Is that so?" Reborn replied shortly, crossing his arms over his chest. Tsuna slumped even more, pulling his shoulders in like a turtle hiding in its shell, which ticked Reborn off. He was rather used to the teen's outwards attitude. Tsuna argued with him quite well at times and wasn't afraid to tell Reborn off for something the brunette thought was mean or rude. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"Eh?" Tsuna stuttered. "I…I don't know."

"Che," Reborn scoffed. "Sit up on the bed, idiot. I can't imagine the floor is very comfortable, and my head hurts when I look down. You're not supposed to make a patient feel ill."

That had clearly been the wrong thing to say. Tsuna turned a horrible grey colour that could rival the drink resting on Reborn's nightstand. Nonetheless, he stood up, walked over the bed, looked at it like it was going to bite his leg off or something and carefully sat down at the very edge, far away from Reborn's outstretched legs. Reborn moved his leg and kicked Tsuna in the butt, making the teen shriek.

"What was that?"

"You were taking up space," Reborn grinned. Tsuna glowered at him.

"You told me to sit!"

"I know I did, brat, my memory hasn't gone."

Tsuna groaned, pressing a hand to his face. Some of his old spark was back, which made Reborn a little happier. "Shouldn't you be resting instead kicking people?"

"Not really. I'm healing well, look." Throwing the sheets back, Reborn lifted the bottom of his white shirt, showing Tsuna the fresh bandages and the herbs covering the wound. Tsuna stared down at the well-toned stomach, relief flitting across his face momentarily before he looked away, the same, sad look back on his face.

"I—that's good to hear."

Reborn lowered his shirt, yanking his blanket back over him, deciding that it was kind of chilly in the room. "You know what? The blonde bastard says that you wear the self-pity look well."

"Beige," Tsuna corrected.

"What?"

"Alaude's hair is beige," Tsuna said hesitantly. Reborn stared, and then made a frustrated noise and fell back into his pillow, yelling, "What is what you people and the colour beige?" The memory of Yamamoto and him arguing over Alaude's freaking hair colour was apparently still evident in the hunter's mind.

"I beg your pardon?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"Ugh, nothing, idiot. The point is I disagree about you wearing pity well." Reborn's dark eyes bored into Tsuna's puzzled ones. "You don't look good when you're upset. At least, I don't think so. You look better when you smile."

Tsuna's eyes widened and he bit back a sarcastic retort, looking down at his knees. "You think I look better when I smile? Do I even have a right to smile?"

"Why shouldn't you?" Reborn asked.

"You—arrgh, never mind, you won't get it."

"I take that as an insult to my intelligence."

"I said never mind."

"That's not what I asked for," Reborn shot back.

"You're impossible!" Tsuna yelled, throwing his hands up. "I—I'm the one who lost my temper and control to that demon and I nearly killed _you_. I shouldn't—I shouldn't even be here, sitting in the same room as you," Tsuna finished with a whisper. "I shouldn't even look you in the face."

There were tears welling up in the wide eyes, which, in Reborn's opinion, were the only thing that shouldn't be happening inside the room. Since when did he grow so attached to the boy?

"I said self-pity doesn't suit you, Tsuna. Crying won't do you any good."

"I'm not crying," Tsuna retorted stubbornly. "You—why are you even talking to me?"

"Why can't I? Now _you're_ being unreasonable."

"I'm the one responsible for—for all _this_!" Tsuna shrieked, leaping to his feet and stomping forwards, waving his arms wildly and gesturing to all of Reborn that was sitting up on the bed. "It's my fault that you're lying on a hospital bed right before a war, that we barely have any time to plan, and I acted like such a brat, I can't even—"

Suddenly, Reborn couldn't stand how Tsuna was raging and throwing all the blame on himself. Yes, it was his somewhat indirectly his fault that Reborn got hurt, but the boy had just found out that the brother he loved, adored, and looked up to was dead after six years of endless searching, and that his brother's best friend had killed him, and hidden the truth away. Who wouldn't lose their head a little? The brunette was talking, but Reborn wasn't listening anymore. All he could really see were the dark eyes reflecting tiny pools of tears clinging onto the teen's eyelashes, that damned expression on his face, and before he could stop himself, Reborn's hand shot out and grabbed the front of Tsuna's shirt. The brunette yelped as he pitched forward, face instantly way too close, and Reborn added the smallest of tugs to ensure that Tsuna would lose his balance completely and fall onto him.

Which was exactly what happened.

And when that happened, their lips met.

Tsuna's eyes widened in shock and his face turned red, but before he could pull back, Reborn threw one arm around Tsuna's neck, yanking him in, and the other came around the younger male's back so he could haul Tsuna right up onto the bed. The brunette pushed against Reborn's chest, lips still locked with the elder's, trying to pull back, but Reborn kept Tsuna close. Their noses brushed against each others' as the dark-haired man pushed his tongue coaxingly against Tsuna's lips, which the brunette kept firmly shut. Sighing, Reborn settle with burying his fingers into Tsuna's hair, which was softer than their spikey texture looked. His other arm was hooked around Tsuna's waist, and the brunette was forced to straddle over Reborn's seated form so that he wouldn't have to place any weight on the hunter's chest.

They remained like that for several moments until Reborn parted, staring at Tsuna with depthless eyes, almost grinning at the other's flustered expression. "What, didn't like that?"

"You're—you're—" Tsuna struggled to find the right word, during which Reborn decided that he was talking too much and kissed the hollow of the brunette's throat instead, making Tsuna shriek like a girl and smack Reborn on the back of the head.

"Idiot! Don't do that!"

"Ouch, man, what the hell?" Reborn groaned, head butting Tsuna for good measure. "I try to cheer you up a little and you attempt to injure me even more?"

"Why are you kissing me?" Tsuna yelled, the scarlet blush coming back. Reborn grinned devilishly.

"Because that's a better alternative to you crying and whining. Look, kid, I didn't blame you or shoot at you, so that means that I'm not holding a grudge or anything against you, alright? It's partially my fault for hiding something like that from you. I couldn't…face reality myself, for about six years, but you helped change that, and I'm appreciative. So quit shouldering everything. I know the pain of carrying something uncontrollable…so you're not alone."

"Something uncontrollable?" Tsuna asked softly, looking down in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Hmph. Not telling." Reborn grumbled, looking away. Tsuna pouted.

"Tell me!"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I will in due time," Reborn complained, strong arms wrapping around Tsuna's waist as he gave the brunette a tight squeeze. "For now, just shut up and kiss me. I know you liked that."

Tsuna's face burned, but to Reborn's utter surprise, the brunette leaned down shyly and pressed his lips against the hunter's. Pleased, Reborn slipped his tongue in as Tsuna's hands ran their way through Reborn's dark hair. Of all things that could be happening (there was a war coming up, damn it), this was probably the last thing that should be on the list. But for the two males entwined together, it was a moment of quiet bliss that they wanted to indulge in before the storm arrived.

When they parted again, Tsuna was smiling faintly, still hesitant, but at least he wasn't crying anymore. When he asked Reborn, "Are you sure this is okay?" the hunter simply chose to reach up and kiss the teen gently on the cheek in a rare show of affection.

Tsuna ducked, smiling widely now.

One conflict was over.

* * *

><p>The second problem, however, came up with the other one hundred and one problems they all had. Everyone had migrated into Reborn's hospital room now, much to Reborn's distaste, and the herbs had been pushed aside, the dirty glasses washed and resting on the nightstand, and coats were piled up at the end of the bed. Alaude was standing in the far corner, leaning against the wall, Tsuna was sitting on the edge of the bed with Reborn, and Yamamoto and Byakuran were sitting cross legged on the floor. It was late afternoon now, and time was running short.<p>

"So." Byakuran started, checking his watch. "It's 4:30 in the afternoon. We cast the seal at exactly 6:33 in the morning. We have roughly nineteen hours before the seal is estimated to break—"

"No," Reborn cut in suddenly. "I'd say that we have around eight hours."

"_Eight?_" Byakuran echoed, startled.

"You can't take everything literally," Reborn grunted. "There are one hundred and fifty demons trying to break in. Even an earth seal can't hold up against so many. So if the seal can provide about twenty-four hours of protection, knock off a couple of hours to be realistic. It's better that we are prepared than to get whacked off our feet if the seal breaks ahead of time."

"Fair enough," Byakuran said, frowning.

"Have you evacuated everyone yet?" Tsuna asked, worried. Byakuran nodded. "The last group left about half an hour ago. The first people to leave in the morning should have reached the safe village for a while now."

"That's good," Tsuna said with relief, exhaling.

"I think even the crowd in front of the office has dispersed as well," Yamamoto said, tapping his lip. "There was a horde of people who thought it was a demon invasion and came looking for charms. I had to break into the office from the back."

"You broke into my office?" Reborn snarled, glaring. Yamamoto raised his hands defensively. "You try going through fifty angry customers!"

"Shut up, idiots," Alaude growled from the far end of the room. "We're here to discuss our battle plans, not about your herbivore business."

"Yes, yes," Byakuran said hastily. "So, in regards to the human force, we have a total of thirty men from both Special Investigations and External Affairs. I've had them modify their bullets as Yamamoto instructed, with a celestial bronze compound, so they're effective against the demons."

"Fine, that sounds alright," Reborn nodded. "We'll pit them against the lesser demons, which isn't hard to spot, since they're a lot smaller in size. Make sure your men only take on those. It's not a matter of personal glory and shit like that; it's the fact that they don't have proper training against the large demons and guns will only take you so far."

"My men aren't brainless bunch of muscles," Alaude hissed. "They know how to follow orders."

"More like only knowing how to follow orders," Reborn said nastily.

"Okay," Tsuna hastily interrupted before a verbal brawl could break out, "so where does that leave the demon hunters, Reborn?"

"One person takes the main gate," Reborn huffed. "Tackle the large ones as soon as they get in and keep them at the edge of the city. If they move in and hide amongst the streets and buildings, it'll be a lot harder to find. In case that doesn't work out, the other two will be keeping tabs around the city, catching whatever slips past the first hunter at the gates."

"Are you sure you want to split up?" Byakuran asked, frowning. "That might not be safe."

"Believe me," Reborn said stiffly. "It's much safer if we're not sticking together." Byakuran tilted his head, but he didn't press on.

"Roger that," Yamamoto said, tapping his foot. "Let's do our best!"

"Yes, yes," Tsuna said softly, twiddling his thumbs.

"Tsk. If the city goes down, you're going down with it," Alaude sneered. "Now, before all you can do your stupid pep talk or whatever goes down before a fight, I need to clear something up with our head of the office here." Reborn glared. "What now, Alaude?"

The light-haired man crossed his arms and asked plainly, "Are you sure that your curse won't affect any of us on this mission?"

There was silence.

"Curse?" Yamamoto asked, looking between Alaude and Reborn. Tsuna glanced up, startled, remembering what Alaude had told him that time in the café. _Reborn survived, but was cursed_.

The hunter glowered. "Why do you think I split our group up? It shouldn't be effective since there's a loophole, in some sense."

"Loophole?" Byakuran questioned.

"Reborn, what is this curse?" Tsuna asked softly, tugging on the man's arm. Reborn exhaled slowly, his eyebrows knitting together. For the first time, he looked slightly uncomfortable.

"It's…a long story. Six years ago, I took on a case, in which Alaude was present, and two of my former comrades from the office were killed. Out of the three, I survived, but I was cursed. The demon that placed the spell on me looked down on humans, and was enraged that they would team up against him. He thought of himself as a higher, more enhanced being. The curse he placed on me was one of solitude. I have to be alone, no matter what. If, in a fight, I happen to work with or team up with a group of three, then the curse would act up. I don't know if I would die, or someone around me will. That can't be risked, so I'm going to go solo."

"But—" Tsuna started to say, worried. Reborn gave him a half-glance and stressed quietly again, "It _can't_ be risked."

Tsuna's voice died down, and he nodded, but still looked uncomfortable. Yamamoto chewed his lip, but he smiled encouragingly and said, "Don't worry, Reborn. We can look after ourselves."

"Hmph," Alaude grumbled, standing up. "Is this all? You're all becoming far too crowded. If there is any change of the plans, Byakuran, notify me at once."

"Yes, sir," Byakuran replied hastily. Alaude swept out of the room, grumbling something about herbivores and invaders. The rest of the group looked at one another.

"Well, I think this is the best we can do, for now," Yamamoto said slowly. "We should meet up at the police station a little before the estimated break time, which is…?"

"Around midnight," Reborn said, counting. "Be there by eleven."

"Understood," Yamamoto grinned, standing up. Byakuran got to his feet as well, placing an arm around Yamamoto's waist. "I should go get ready, so see you guys in a bit."

"Watch your step," Reborn said, rolling his eyes. "Don't want you to trip and bash your head in before the big game."

"Maa, maa, so mean, Reborn," Yamamoto grinned cheekily. "If I really were as clumsy as you say, I would be the first one to go down in this fight." Laughing at Reborn's expression, the two waved an exited the room.

"Bye," Tsuna said softly, returning the wave as the couple disappeared down the hall. He glanced over at Reborn, who downed the last of his medicine and stood up, stretching. "Should you be standing?" Tsuna asked worriedly.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Reborn asked back, grinning at the disgruntled expression on Tsuna's face. "This stuff is good for me, Tsuna, so stop worrying your ass over it. I'm fine, and I will fight."

"Good to know," the brunette replied dryly, standing up. Reborn smirked and bent down, pressing a light kiss to Tsuna's soft lips before straightening up. Tsuna blushed brilliantly, looking out the window. He ran his tongue over his lips for a moment, blinked, and then looked up at Reborn, asking, "Why do I taste kiwi?"

For a second, Reborn stared before bursting out into laughter, hugging Tsuna tightly.

"Honestly, kid, I don't even know."

* * *

><p>The sky was dark by the time Reborn and Tsuna arrived at the police station, which glowed like light bulb in the dark and deserted city. Inside, at the lobby, the police officers were geared up in bulletproof vests, loading their guns with the celestial bronze covered rounds Yamamoto had suggested. The swordsman himself was sitting on one of the plastic chairs with his katana resting next to him, wearing a dark jacket and an armor plate over his chest. Byakuran and Alaude were also wearing their custom bulletproof vests, and Alaude had come with a long, silver sword in addition to his gun. Reborn had chosen to stay light, and had only donned his shirt and vest with his gun strapped to his side. Two sharp knives hung from his belt with a third dagger tucked away into his boots. Tsuna only had his mittens, barely cleaned of the blood.<p>

"About time," Alaude snapped at them.

"Shut up, we're not late," Reborn snarled back, dropping off his bag behind the receptionists' desk. "What's happening right now?"

"Alaude and Byakuran's men are out lighting beacons around the city right now," Yamamoto explained. "Fire would help distract the demons."

"And set up a huge potential for a massive bonfire, no big deal," Reborn added helpfully, making Yamamoto roll his eyes and Tsuna snort loudly. "Well, whatever, it's almost 11:35. We should move out now."

"Understood," Yamamoto said, picking up his sword. "We're off."

"Take care," Tsuna said shyly, smiling up at the taller man. Yamamoto grinned and ruffled Tsuna's hair.

"Thanks, kid. It was really nice meeting you. I'll see you guys after the war." Turning, the swordsman gave Byakuran a quick peck on the lips before hurrying out the door. In turn, the white haired man picked up his shotgun and called for his set of troops. He nodded at Reborn and Tsuna before exiting the station as well. The brunette tugged at his mittens, looking nervously down at the woolly articles. Reborn, noticing the teen's hesitation, bumped him lightly on the head and said softy, "Whatever happens, just stay in control. Concentrate on what you're fighting for and you'll win over your demon."

"I know," Tsuna said, closing his hands into fists, determination burning in his eyes. "Since Giotto isn't here to fight this battle…I'll fight for him." He smiled up at Reborn, scratching his neck awkwardly. "Thank you, for saving him. Saving the human side of him."

"I don't know if you'd call that saving," Reborn replied, a strange expression on his face. Tsuna only smiled, shaking his head.

"You're a hunter. Even when you kill, you kill with the pride of your profession on your shoulders. So, to me, you saved my brother." With those final words, Tsuna closed his eyes and exhaled. Reborn watched as the soft brown eyes slowly opened once more, blazing with orange light, and the mittens morph into silver gloves. Tsuna flexed his fingers and cast one more look at the dark-haired man before he turned and ran to fill his post, the East side of the city. Reborn watched him go until the teen was a mere speck in the distance. All around the city, the bonfire grates were filled with leaping flames, illuminating London with blazing firelight. Reborn let out a breath he had unconsciously been holding. The last time he had fought in a full-scale battle like this was six years ago, with terrifying results.

Would they all make it out alive?

"Are you going to stand there daydreaming?" a voice growled from behind him, and Alaude walked into view, strapping his sword to his waist. Reborn glared, pulling out his gun and removing the safety. "Shut up. I don't see you leaving extra early any time soon."

"Hmph," Alaude huffed, and it was in that moment that it occurred to Reborn that it was also the first time in six years that Alaude had to fight an all-out battle against the demons. It was unnerving, but somehow, they really did have a lot in common. Reborn frowned, remembering something that Alaude had never really answered.

"Hey, prick."

"What, ape."

"Who was it that you gave up your pride for?" Reborn asked, crossing his arms. Alaude stiffened the same way he did at the hospital, his hand momentarily closing on the hilt of his sword before he sent a burning glare in Reborn's direction. The hunter rolled his eyes, not really expecting an answer. The Investigator stormed over to the glass doors, planting a gloved hand against it. To Reborn's shock, Alaude turned, his bangs hiding his icy blue eyes.

"His name was Hibari. I shot him as he was dying from a roadside bomb."

"Hibari?" Reborn repeated. "A skylark?"

"Yes. Now shut up and go to your post, arse, or I'll slice you into bits," Alaude sneered, stalking off into the night. Reborn turned his gun over in his hands, wondering momentarily if Alaude still used the same weapon that took his friend's life. If he had the courage to keep the gun that was covered in the blood of his comrade. The hunter pursed his lips, opening and shutting the door quietly after him.

As he, too, walked off to his post on the West Side, Reborn wondered who he'd use his gun to kill today.

* * *

><p>Yamamoto stood at the gates, his katana held firmly between his calloused fingers. Barely ten feet away from him, the seal bulged as the demons continued to force their way into the city. Small, glowing cracks were already visible in the white, balloon-like shield. The sounds of the seal cracking sounded like fire crackers popping, only ten times louder, and ten times more dangerous. Black mist was already seeping into the city's grounds. The two bonfires placed next to the gates threw shadows that constantly flashed back and forth, doing a wild, haphazard dance onto the cobblestones.<p>

It was nearly time. The seal strained a little more, and Yamamoto could see the eyes and the fangs bared at him. Slowly, he raised his sword and took a defensive stance, waiting patiently for the demons to come.

"My parents died because of you lot," Yamamoto said softly. "I'm here to return the favour."

The seal groaned, being pulled and pushed too far now. It was going to give way soon.

"C'mon," Yamamoto whispered, gritting his teeth. "Come _on_—"

And as the clock struck midnight, the earth seal shattered under the force of the demon army that penetrated London's gates like a pack of ravaged wolves. They passed into the streets, looking for humans to hunt. The first wave was sliced apart by Yamamoto, and somewhere in the distance, a symphony of gunshots were heard, clipping through the night air in a synchronized sound. The demons that overcame Yamamoto's attacks were now razing the first buildings they came into contact with, searching high and low for their meal. The swordsman dodged a strike and watched as those who'd escaped his first attack plunge into the city.

"Well…there they go."

It was easy to lose track of everyone once the battle started. The police force was divided into small groups around the city, occupying buildings and alleyways as they attacked in secret. There weren't any citizens around to worry about, and property damage was the least of everyone's qualms. The smallest demons were the size of a compact car, and the largest about the size of a truck. The black masses swirled in and out of the city, frustrated that they could not find any open prey. When the first group of officers was discovered, the frenzy began.

From over two blocks away, Reborn could hear to screams as the first victims fell to the jaws of their supernatural enemy. He ran down the street, slipping in and out of the shadows, searching for the leader of the pack. That was the plan from the very start. Eliminate the strongest one, and the problem would very nearly be halved. The small fries looked up to the head, much like humans did, and without command, their cooperation would dwindle. Reborn ducked under a dumpster as two demons streaked past him in search of food. The hunter waited until the demons were a little ways down the street before jumping out from his hiding spot, firing to rounds at the demons' backs. Each bullet hit its target with pinpoint accuracy, and the monsters disintegrated into ash. He then resumed his run, weaving between buildings and other defense groups lying in position. As Reborn darted out into one of the main roads, he ran into one of the biggest groups yet. In the center of a mass of about eight demons, Yamamoto was fighting them fiercely. Reborn joined in at once, and with their combined effort, the last of their enemies turned into dust. One of the demons keened noisily and smashed into one of the towering fire stands, which in turn kneeled over and fell onto one of the buildings. It caught fire at once, sparks spitting into the sky.

"Didn't I say that was just set up to cause a massive bonfire?" Reborn yelled over the noise.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get out of here before Alaude finds this," Yamamoto said hastily. Reborn barely had time to agree before somewhere in the distance, another torch fell over and a mass of orange climbed into the air.

"That's the town center!" Yamamoto yelled.

"Alaude's men won't move from the posts," Reborn said, his heart jumping. "It's got to be Tsuna."

"Let's go!" Yamamoto urged, but the elder hesitated. He had tried to make sure that they would all fight separately, but now—

Suddenly, there was an ear-shattering roar as a massive demon lumbered into view, circling low over the rooftops near the town center, snapping at its opponent. Reborn nearly choked on his own breath. That was the king demon, their main target. And Tsuna was there—

"Come _on_, Reborn!" Yamamoto shouted. "You have to believe in us! We won't lose, so forget about your curse and let's go help Tsuna!"

"I—" the nagging in his gut was clearly against it, but he had no choice. "Fuck," Reborn swore angrily. "We're going, we're going!"

The two hunters took off for the center, where the first massacre had taken place. Would there be more blood spilled there tonight? Reborn didn't want to think about it. They arrived moments later to see Tsuna fighting head on with the strongest demon, battling his hardest. The demon side of him had heightened the teen's instincts, and he was dodging blows, swipes, and a terrifying jaw with superhuman speed. Once in a while, he'd get a hit in, and the demon would falter a little, but not for long. Reborn scanned their surroundings at once, taking in the fallen torch that was burning its way up the city hall. The giant clock's arms ticked, indicating that it was nearly one in the morning. Had they been fighting for so long already?

"What's the plan?" Yamamoto said breathlessly.

"The city hall," Reborn said. "It's half on fire, so it's a goner anyway. Lure the demon into the building in some way, and I'll take down the second torch near the back. Pump the thing so full of celestial bronze that it can't regenerate fast enough and burn it alive."

"Sounds like fun," Yamamoto replied cheerfully. "I'll team up with Tsuna!" With those words, the swordsman dashed head-on into the fray, catching the attention of the king demon. The monster turned to its new enemy, but was distracted again by a blow from Tsuna, who took advantage of the demon's confusion. Before it could retaliate, however, Yamamoto ran up and slashed at the monster's flank, making it howl.

"That's right, keep confusing it," Reborn panted, running for the torch a couple meters away from him. It was a tall thing, hastily built out of scavenged timbers from the old mill, but nonetheless impressive. If Reborn ruined the base, the blazing fire would manage to fall right into roof of the city hall. The hunter slipped his gun back into its holster and pulled his out his dagger from his boot. Reborn cut at the ropes securing the wooden mass, choosing carefully which ones to sever. If he didn't time it right, or cut off the wrong restraint, the torch would fall and probably set all the important buildings in the town center on fire. And Alaude would _kill_ him.

Tsuna and Yamamoto had their hands full, gradually pushing the demon towards the hall. The burning portion was obviously not appealing to the monster, and it was all the two hunters could do to keep the demon trapped against the building.

"Reborn, we could really use the other torch right about now!" Yamamoto yelled, rounding behind the monster. Tsuna leapt into the air to move out of range of the teeth, but just as he landed, the tail came sweeping over. Yamamoto caught sight of that, and ran for the teen, shouting "Tsuna!"

Shoving the teen out of the way, the tail went whipping down and hit Yamamoto, sending the swordsman flying to the ground at the front of the hall. "Yamamoto!" Tsuna shouted, startled, but the other only got to his feet, spitting out a bit of blood.

"Drive him towards me, Tsuna!"

The teen hesitated, but nodded. Tsuna ran over to the fountain and leapt up onto the statue in the middle. With a powerful punch, he broke the stone sword off the rider's hands and threw it like a javelin at the demon. It pierced the back of the monster's neck, which made it howl and stumbled blindly forward, right where Yamamoto was standing. The swordsman narrowed his eyes, taking aim. As the monster staggered towards him, Yamamoto lifted his katana and speared the king demon's chest, right at the black, beating organ hidden amongst the swirling black mess. It screeched madly, flailing.

"Reborn!" Yamamoto shouted, ducking.

"I know!" the dark-haired man hollered, cutting the last rope free. With all of his strength, Reborn rammed his shoulder against the base of the torch. The tower creaked, and Reborn shoved again. Very slowly, in an almost unbearably tantalizingly way, the beacon swayed like cattails in a mild wind before tipping over with a groan. It smashed into the back of the demon's neck, driving the stone sword in even deeper, and rolled off onto the roof, burning with the other fallen torch.

"Yes!" Tsuna shouted. The demon screamed and writhed, falling over onto the roof as well, right into the mass of flames. Yamamoto dodged and dashed out, coughing a little from the smoke. "We got it!"

Reborn exhaled, sliding his knife back into his boot. They'd taken down the leader. Now all was left was the other demons, which Alaude's men had hopefully eliminated. Tsuna looked over at Reborn, smiling a small smile from his perch atop of the ruined statue as Yamamoto started walking towards them, away from the burning demon. Everything had worked out fine, and Reborn couldn't help let out a sigh of relief.

Just then, the demon's tail spasmed.

The long, twisting extension jerked fitfully, and before any of them could figure out what happened, it caught Yamamoto right across the midsection and sent him flying into the front of the city hall once more. Tsuna shrieked and jumped down. Reborn's heart stopped cold as he and the teen both rushed forwards for their friend, who was getting groggily up, holding his chest.

Then, there was a long, ill-fated creak, and the burning building finally broke under the weight of the demon being roasted alive on the roof. The stone bricks crumbled and shattered outwards, and the rubble began to fall.

"NO!" Reborn bellowed, and never in his life had he made such a sound before. As the building collapsed in a pile of flaming wood, rock and smoke, he and Tsuna could only watch as Yamamoto looked up, surprise in his eyes, before he vanished under the mess, buried behind a wall of debris. Tsuna fell to his knees, his eyes wide and his chest heaving, unable to speak. Reborn's head spun at the sight before him, terror and guilt pumping through his veins.

Yamamoto was under that.

Yamamoto was _crushed_ under that.

It was all because of his curse. The curse of three.

And it was a mark of how badly the fates hated him, because at that moment, the remains of the entire building exploded. The hunters threw themselves down, covering their faces as the wreckage exploded outwards, destroying some of the buildings around them, and covering the cobblestone with rubble. The demon burned on, an unmoving black mess.

Tsuna's choked sobs shook Reborn from his dazed thoughts. Sixty mintues into the battle and they had already lost a comrade.

Yamamoto Takeshi was the first to fall.

Just as he had unknowingly predicted at the hospital eight hours ago.

* * *

><p><strong>Terms:<strong>

_Moko-Titi_ - A hideous lizard demon of the Maori people.

_Chemosit_ - A demon from Kenya who is half man and half bird.

So. Yeah. I killed Yamamoto. Whups. ;^;

This was a startlingly long chapter. I hope the battle scene wasn't too complicated D:

Thank you for reading! The comments were wonderful, and I promise Chapter Nine is coming soon!

-BlackStar


	9. Chapter 9

Welcome to The Grimm Office

I've had my account for a little over a year now. Whooot. Progress has been made! Kind of. After I read some of your reviews for Chapter Eight (thank you all, by the way :3 ) I regret to inform you guys that Yamamoto _is_ actually dead. Regardless of his training in demon hunting, he's still human. And yes, Byakuran is going to rage… ;_; Ahnnn, I'm such a cruel, cruel person *weeps in corner*

In other news: Spring Break is over. I feel sad. All I did was sleep and eat and work. Ah, well. Easter break is coming up, yosh.

Welcome to Chapter Nine. Thank for taking the time to read!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine<p>

_Everyone lives on borrowed time. The only thing that sets people apart is when you have to give it back. (Unknown)_

"So…where are you from?"

Reborn looked up from the gash on his knee, staring at the Asian teen hovering awkwardly above him. The kid was probably twenty or so, with his dark honeyed eyes and the spikey black hair. He had a faint scar on his chin and a katana strapped to his back. The two males were currently one of the forests located near northern France, half hidden under the sprawling, hundred year trees the area was famous for.

"Why are you asking?" Reborn shot at him, directing his attention back to his knee. Damn, that was a lot of blood.

"Well, uh, I just wanted to make a conversation," the man said awkwardly. "I don't like the silence much."

"Really now," Reborn said, distracted. He mopped up the sides of the cut and dug into his backpack for a roll of gauze. Using one hand to hold the end of the bandage down, he rolled it around the cut several times before tying it off. However, he didn't have enough hands to reach for a pair of scissors. Reborn groaned, royally pissed off. Trust him to be so scatterbrained after a fight with a demon.

Suddenly, there was a ring of metal on metal, and the end of a gleaming katana was right against his leg. He snapped up at once, and the kid jumped back a little, throwing his other hand up defensively. "No, no, I'm not trying to hurt you! I just wanted to cut the end off, since your hands are full."

Reborn stared, mystified, but then he nodded, and the dark-haired teen, looking relieved, carefully nicked the gauze, which sliced apart effortlessly. Reborn rolled the bandage back up, inspecting the cut. "Thanks."

"No problem," the teen said, smiling. He sheathed the sword, which made Reborn wonder where he was from.

"That's Japanese, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," the guy replied, apparently pleased that Reborn could tell. "Have you ever been to Japan?"

"Nope," Reborn stated bluntly. "I've only been to China. Went to see a friend."

"Oh, I see. Is your friend into…this line of business as well?" the teen asked, slinging his side bag onto his shoulder. Reborn picked up his rucksack and dug around for his case of ammunition, sliding his gun out of his holster and reloading.

"Yeah, he is. He specializes in martial arts though."

"Wow," the guy said, looking impressed. "I've only ever used a sword, haha. My pops taught me how to fight with it."

"You father's one of us?" Reborn asked, surprised that he was actually having a conversation with someone. It was rare enough that one would encounter company in such a vast forest, but to run into a hunter specifically…

"Nah, pops was a sushi maker," the teen grinned. "My mam taught me. She was the best. I just decided to use a sword, that's all."

"I see," Reborn said slowly. The only other female hunter he knew was probably the most abusive and terrifying woman ever. Sometimes, he wondered how her boyfriend stood it. But the guy was an ex-COMBUSIN member, as well as a soldier, so whatever.

"So, uh, what brings you up to the forest?" The guy was asking questions again. Reborn shrugged his shoulders, now picking up his shotgun.

"Just doing a bit of hunting, nothing special."

"Cool," the guy mused, and then he stuck out his hand. "Uh, you look European, so I guess this is the way you guys greet one another? I'm Yamamoto Takeshi. Yamamoto is my surname."

Reborn stared at the outstretched hand, momentarily unsure of what to do. This was almost the first time he'd held a conversation with another hunter in four years…or a conversation with a human being, for that matter. He adjusted his bag and awkwardly clasped Yamamoto's hand, giving it a shake.

"Reborn. You headed somewhere?"

"Not sure at the moment, but I suppose I'd like to drop by near Britain," Yamamoto said, scratching the back of his head with a grin.

Reborn tilted his head. Somehow, everything just seemed pretty convenient. "I see. Well, I live in Britain. Interested in a guide?"

Yamamoto looked surprised, but then broke out into an even bigger smile. "If it's not too much trouble."

Reborn leaned over to pick up his shotgun before heading down the trail. "Well, I think France has seen enough of us already. Let's go."

* * *

><p>London was falling.<p>

The night sky was ablaze with fire as the buildings burned, the torches flared and Reborn shouted again and again in utter frustration and rammed his fist in the side of the fountain.

"Reborn, stop that—"

"Shut up, Tsuna," Reborn snarled, suppressing a shudder.

"Stop it!" Tsuna yelled, trying to restrain the man's arms. Reborn only roared like a wounded animal, struggling.

"Stay out of this!"

"NO!" Tsuna shouted, his voice suddenly shaking Reborn by the shoulders as hard as he could, startling the man into listening to his words. "Listen to me, Reborn, listen! You can't do anything anymore. I'm sorry, Reborn, I'm sorry…Yamamoto's gone."

As the truth finally sunk in, Reborn groaned, running his ashen hands through his hair. Tsuna hugged him tightly, wrapping his arms around Reborn's middle, listening to the heart beating under the layers of clothing. The fire brightened London more than the sun ever had, reflecting ribbons of red, orange, and yellow against the bottom of the clouds that hung low in the sky. Reborn shook in the teen's tight hold, gritting his teeth in an attempt to control his sadness and anger. He knew this would happen. He knew what his curse was capable of, so why, why, _why_ in the name of all things holy did he agree to gather together?

For the second time in his life, he was responsible for a friend's death.

"It's okay," Tsuna whispered, his voice soft and shaky, but Reborn heard him loud and clear. "It's alright, Reborn, we can still win this. We have to win this. For Yamamoto. We can fight. We have to keep fighting!"

"I know that," Reborn groaned, grabbing his head with his hands as he sunk to his knees, feeling ten times older. "I know, I know, Tsuna, I just can't…give me a moment, please. Just one second."

Tsuna didn't reply, but the dark-haired man suddenly felt soft mittens prying at his hands, gently pulling his palms away from their death grip in his hair. Tsuna bent down a little, his face just hovering over Reborn's and held the hunter's face with his own hands. The wide, teary eyes were back to their smooth, chocolaty brown colour, and despite the fire storm in the sky burning behind Tsuna, his expression held an infinite amount of warmth. When he leaned down to kiss Reborn, the hunter allowed himself to relax into it, surrendering his exhausted soul to the brunette. He had been alone for far too long.

"Reborn," Tsuna whispered when they parted, "We have to go."

Mutely, the hunter nodded, getting to his feet and pulling out his gun. Despite really wanting to lie down and never get back up again, Reborn brushed the dust off him and steeled himself for payback. If those demons thought they would escape with their leader dead, they would be horribly mistaken. Casting one last glance behind him at the burning building, Reborn's grip tightened on his weapon.

"I'm sorry, Yamamoto."

Tsuna adjusted his mittens, looking shaken but determined. He turned to walk out of the town square from the main road, but suddenly, a dark shape came hurtling out of nowhere and the two crashed haphazardly to the ground. Reborn's heart twisted in terror, thinking it was a demon, but when a familiar human voice yelped out in surprise, the hunter could feel his very body going cold when he realized who'd just run into the town square.

It was Byakuran.

Tsuna scrambled to his feet, fear etched on his face as he jerked his head up to look at Reborn. The white-haired man stood back up as well, brushing dirt off his pants. The bulletproof vest he was wearing was torn in several places but still relatively intact, his pants had some burn marks on it and there was a long gash on his arm, but Byakuran didn't look any worse for wear.

It was a mark of how much the gods hated Reborn.

"Reborn! Tsuna! Good, you're all safe," Byakuran huffed, picking up his fallen gun and reloading his bullets. "I saw the fire in the distance and I came over to see if you needed help."

Tsuna continued to stare, horrified, as Byakuran fixed his gun and wiped sweat off his face. The purple eyes moved over Reborn and Tsuna standing fixated in their spots, looking pale. "Hey, now, don't despair, we've still got a chance in this thing," the police office said lightly. "We just gotta keep fighting, yeah?" He raised his arm and gave Reborn a friendly pat on the shoulder, and the hunter could feel his heart sinking even lower into the pits of his stomach.

The brunette bit his lip so hard it started to bleed as he tried to keep his own tears from falling. Byakuran retracted his hand from Reborn's shoulder as he inspected the cut on his arm, grumbling softly under his breath as he wiped away at the blood staining his skin with his sleeve. Then, he stopped, and slowly looked up. Reborn's instincts took over and he stepped back. Tsuna copied him, his gaze darting between the two men.

"Reborn, where's Takeshi?" Byakuran asked, glancing around.

The said man did not speak. He held Byakuran's gaze with a steady one of his own, but the pain in his face was noticeable. The white-haired man exhaled slowly, confusion etched on his face.

"Where's Takeshi?"

Tsuna whimpered, clamping a hand over his mouth. Reborn gritted his teeth hard, dropping his eyes onto the cobblestones for a brief moment. Byakuran looked over at Tsuna, and then, gradually, as though he was drawn in by some unexplained force, Byakuran's eyes fell onto the remains of the city hall, which was still burning strongly. He took in the slumped body of the demon smoking away in the pile of debris piled up at the front of the building and the stone, wood, and metal strewn over the giant courtyard. A look of utter shock and disbelief crossed over the man's face as he watched the structure burn away in the blazing flames. Tsuna broke down, wiping his eyes furiously. His sniffles were barely heard over the sounds of the city hall's continued demolishment.

"No," Byakuran said slowly, stepping back, shaking his head. "No. No. No. This—this isn't—it can't be," he stammered, voice shaking slightly. "This is a lie. He's not—he can't—Takeshi isn't under that. He isn't. He—he—"

"He is there," Reborn said quietly. "I'm sorry, Byakuran. Yamamoto's dead."

Byakuran turned, violet eyes suddenly on fire, and before either Reborn or Tsuna could anticipate it, the white-haired man punched the demon hunter in the face. Reborn's jaw emitted a painful _crack_ and Tsuna screamed in shock. Byakuran's other fist collided at once with Reborn's stomach, momentarily knocking the wind out of the dark-haired man before he regained his composure and shoved Byakuran away from him, staggering back, head spinning. Reborn poked his tongue into the back of his mouth, tasting blood, and felt something against his cheek. Snarling, the hunter turned and spat it out onto the cobblestone. A single white molar bounced along the weather-worn street, contrasting against the grey hues of the ground.

"Byakuran—" Reborn barely had time to finish the word when the said man hurtled towards him again, and pure instinct saved the hunter from getting a second tooth knocked out. The man was clearly no novice when it came to fighting; through a series of strong, swift and deadly strikes, Reborn was forced to counter with his own defensive moves lest he received more damage to his already battered body.

"Byakuran, listen to me!"

But the white-haired man was in no mood to listen. The uncontrolled fury and agony was written plainly on his face as he continued to launch himself at Reborn, intent on taking the demon hunter down. Reborn growled and shoved his gun back into its holster, focusing both hands on blocking Byakuran's hits. If the guy accidentally got shot, things would get ten times more complicated.

"Calm the fuck down!"

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!" Byakuran bellowed, nailing Reborn in the ribs with a punch, only to have the hunter swing his leg around and knock him out at the knee, making the white-haired man stumble.

"You're clouded with grief," Reborn snarled, shoving Byakuran back by his neck, making his opponent choke. "Just listen—"

"You brought this on him!" Byakuran roared, grabbing Reborn's wrist and dragging him down onto the ground. Reborn threw his hands up, barely saving his nose from a direct hit that probably would have broken the bone. "You knew you had a curse, you knew you couldn't fight in a team, and you even go out of your way to split everyone up, yet you still manage to get together and kill Takeshi!"

Reborn's bones chilled upon hearing those words. No matter how he tried to deny it, he knew it was true. Yamamoto would not have died if he'd stayed away. But knowing that Tsuna was one-on-one with the demon…

A swift blow to his stomach made Reborn double over, and he cursed his wandering mind when Byakuran suddenly reached to the holster strapped on his leg and pull out his gun, pointing it right at Reborn's chest. The hunter froze. He wouldn't be able to dodge a shot at point blank range.

"_Merda_," Reborn cussed, heart pounding wildly in his ribcage. Byakuran's eyes narrowed, his finger closed over the trigger and—

_Bang_.

The bullet streaked upwards at the last second as Byakuran's arm was knocked away from Reborn's chest. The shot grazed by the hunter's cheek, missing his eye by a hair's width. Blood welled up, but that was the least of his worries. Behind Byakuran, Tsuna's eyes were flaming with orange again, his gloves wrapped around Byakuran's wrist and the other hooking the other arm behind the white-haired man's back. Byakuran struggled, but Tsuna physically enhanced by the demon spirit inside of him, was much stronger. He dragged the police officer forcefully off Reborn, allowing the elder to stagger to his feet.

"Drop—the—gun—" Tsuna growled viciously, squeezing Byakuran's wrist so hard that it cracked, and Byakuran snarled in pain, forced to release his weapon before his wrist broke.

"Don't hurt him, Tsuna," Reborn cut in, kicking the firearm away. "Let go, you're going to break his arm!"

"If I let go, he'll kill you!" Tsuna retorted, loosening his grip slightly but refusing to set Byakuran free.

"You're damn right I will!" Byakuran snarled, but Reborn could see tears running down his face and the man's chest heaving up and down with barely suppressed sobs. "You did this! Takeshi's death is your fault!"

Reborn shook his head, replying, "I knew the risks, but it was his choice as well, Byakuran."

The other's eyes narrowed. "What—what are you—?"

Suddenly, behind them, there was a ground shaking _thud_ as the previously unmoving mass in the fire stirred, shuddered, and then began to straighten up, tossing its thick head wildly, and emitting a bone-shattering roar. Six pairs of disbelieving eyes turned to watch as the black, smoky figure pushed bits of rubble off its back, crawling its way out of the burning building.

The king demon was still alive.

"Fuck!" Reborn shouted.

"No!" Tsuna cried, eyes going wide.

"What is that?" Byakuran yelled.

Neither Tsuna nor Reborn answered, because at that moment, the demon turned its head, two glowing red orbs fixated themselves on the three humans. It swung its tail and knocked a giant chunk of wall, which went flying over across the courtyard. Between yells and swear words, the Reborn, Tsuna and Byakuran scattered, barely avoiding the crushing weight of the debris. The demon howled and struck the rubble again, which rained down upon them in nearly unavoidable waves.

"Get into the buildings!" Reborn hollered, and the three of them split up at once, scrambling for the shops surrounding the town square. Reborn kicked down the door of an antique store, Tsuna scrambled through a hole blown through a flower shop and Byakuran smashed through the window of a pub. The demon growled, its gravelly voice vibrating wildly through the buildings, making things fall and rattle in their spots. Reborn weaved in and out between the displays, knocking over expensive vases, busts of naked women and delicate replicas of animals. His lungs burned for air and his brain was in overdrive, demanding for a solution to this whole fiasco. It would not be long before the monster found them all.

Reborn stumbled to a halt, grabbing onto the edge of a solid oak table. This was going too far. He had to stop and think. There was always a solution, a strategy, to a fight. If he wanted to get out alive with the others, then he needed to gather his wits together and plan _now_. Reborn closed his eyes, drawing out a battle plan in his head.

Think.

Think.

_Think_.

Somewhere outside, there was an earth-shaking rumble, and Reborn watched as the flower shop across the street crumble against the weight of the demon smashing it open in search of its prey. Dread and anger filled his very being. In the midst of all the confusion and dust, a blurry figure streaked out of the collapsing shop, tumbling onto the ground in his haste. Reborn shoved the antiques out of his way at once, hurtling outside to Tsuna at once.

"Tsuna! Are you alright?"

"M'fine," Tsuna stammered, wiping blood of his forehead. "I'm okay, just a scratch. I think the demon can sense me."

With a sinking feeling, Reborn came to a sudden and terrifying realization. Tsuna hadn't been possessed after Yamamoto had died, and the king demon had remained unresponsive on the remains of the city hall. However, the moment Tsuna transformed to save Reborn from Byakuran, the demon regained consciousness at once, which meant that the attack on the shop where Tsuna was hiding in was no coincidence either. The monster could probably detect the small amount of demon power inside of Tsuna, but because the teen was only partially infected, the king demon was aware that he was a human too. If Reborn didn't figure out a way to take down the monster fast, the chances of the next victim being Tsuna was very likely.

"Damn this," Reborn snarled, running a hand through his hair. As the monster moved its body, he something in the back of the demon's neck glinted.

It was the stone sword Tsuna had stabbed into it.

Reborn stared, gears in his brain turning vividly, and in an instant, he knew what to do. Spinning around to the teen, Reborn grasped Tsuna by the shoulder, took a deep breath and said plainly, "There are three people here, Tsuna, which means that my curse could strike at any second. I have a plan, and it's probably the stupidest, most reckless, most idiotic one I've thought of yet, but do you trust me? Do you trust me enough to carry it out, knowing what could happen to any once of us?"

Tsuna blinked, quivering under Reborn's touch, but he nodded firmly, clenching his hands into fists. "Just tell me what to do, and I promise you that I won't die," the brunette said determinedly, knowing deep down that that was the silver lining Reborn was looking for. The man couldn't afford to lose someone else, and Tsuna would be damned if the next casualty was him.

"Alright," Reborn said, turning and pointing at the demon's neck. "Do you remember the sword you stabbed in there? You're the smaller and faster; run up the back of the demon and grab the sword. On my signal, I want you to grab it, use all of your strength, and cut the monster right down its back while I strike it from the front."

"Understood," Tsuna replied, yanking his gloves on tightly. "Don't worry about me, Reborn."

"I know," the dark-haired man answered softly, pressing his lips to Tsuna's fluffy hair before pushing the teen away with a little shove. "Go, and watch your step."

The two hunters split up, dashing around the giant demon that was still pawing through the outer layer of the flower shop in search for its prey. Reborn stepped over the mess, pulling out his gun as he went. Yanking the safety off, he barely paused to aim as he fired one shot at the demon's ankle, making it howl. Walking around the injured leg, Reborn shot at the other one, and the monster buckled, falling down onto all fours. Distantly, he could see Tsuna take advantage of the lowered height and leap onto the demon's back. Reborn fired again, hiding the feeling of Tsuna running up the wispy, bumpy back with more bullets coated with celestial bronze. On a monster, the bonze had the same effect as acid. It hurt like hell.

Shots rang out on the side and Reborn spun around to see Byakuran taking aim at the demon as well. He made eye contact with the hunter, and the man's expression told him that they were far from reaching forgiveness, but the dire situation called for an alliance if they wanted to survive. Nodding his head, Reborn turned his attention back to the monster as he and Byakuran continued to shoot, distracting it from the teen dashing up its back.

When his gun clicked, out of bullets, Reborn shoved it back into its holster and pulled out his knife. "Tsuna!" he bellowed. "On my count!"

Somewhere above, he couldn't hear any audible reply, but prayed that the brunette would figure out what was going on. Reborn ran up to the front of the body, tightening his grip on his blade. "Three! Two! One! Strike!"

The dagger plunged its way through layers of flesh, which spilled black blood out onto Reborn at once, and the demon howled, jerking from both a knife going through its stomach and one tearing its back apart. The demon writhed savagely, its long arms and tail trying desperately to eliminate to hunters. Reborn ducked, weaved, and dodged, barely avoiding direct hits, but when the dreaded tail came around again, it caught him in the shoulder, sending the dark-haired man flying away from the monster, his knife still buried in its belly. Reborn hit the ground with a sickening crunch, smashing his head into the cobblestone. Nearly blacking out from the pain, he groaned, feeling blood run down his neck.

In the distance, the tail smashed into the crumbling flower shop, knocking the sign down, and to Reborn's horror, fell onto Byakuran, who collapsed under the weight of the wooden board, his legs crushed. There was a yell and a splash as Tsuna was thrown off the demon's back, landing right in the fountain, which was on the verge of falling apart. Through his hazy eyes, Reborn's blood ran cold when he realized that Tsuna was not getting out of the water.

He willed his body to move, but nothing responded to him. It was a nightmare, lying on the cold, wet ground, seeing and hearing everything around him, but was unable to call his limbs back to life and fight. Byakuran was trapped under the sign, unconscious. Tsuna still hadn't surfaced from the pool. And Reborn was starting to feel light headed, most likely from the hit his head received and the fact that he'd managed to get a nick on his neck, where blood was spilling out of.

He couldn't fight.

He was as helpless as he was six years ago, watching his friends die one by one.

Reborn groaned, forcing his right arm to reach for his boyfriend that was lying at the bottom of the fountain.

_Not Tsuna. Not Tsuna. Don't you dare take him away from me. Not Tsuna, not Tsuna, not Tsuna, NOT TSUNA!_

Then, his fingers touched something that was lying on the ground. It was small, cold to the touch, and round, with a bumpy edge and a raised surface where something was embedded upon its metallic sides. Reborn squinted, barely making out the object in the light cast by the burning buildings.

It was a one pence coin.

Reborn's eyes widened as a memory suddenly came back to him, and for a moment, he was sitting in the Grimm Office, with a window throw wide open, a light breeze wafting through the room and warm sunshine illuminating the comfy bureau.

_Last one standing_.

The tiny, discarded coin laid flat in his palm, unaware of the meaning it held for the hunter. It was only then that Reborn realize that the spontaneous bet he made six years ago was not a mere gamble that he had always considered it to be. In fact, he'd made a promise to his friends, who, even in death, wanted him to uphold his word.

That he would _survive_, no matter what, and to fight until the very end.

Reborn closed his hand around the coin, strength returning in his body. "Thank you," he said softly to no one in particular, and he pushed himself up with his other hand, feeling the world tilt beneath him but refusing to stop. His legs felt like lead, his arms were nothing be dead weights and his head spun dangerously from the large amount of blood he'd lost, but Reborn placed one foot in front of the other, half-running and half-staggering to the fountain. Tsuna was lying underneath the water, his eyes closed, and Reborn climbed over the edge, splashing into the knee-deep pool. His arms reached down and closed around Tsuna, but he could barely hold himself upright, let alone pull the brunette out. Reborn yelled in frustration, his own blood staining the waters with droplets of red as he fell to his knees, nearly going face down into the water as well.

Then, there was a splash behind him and a hand grabbed the back of his jacket, hauling the hunter back up. Coughing, Reborn looked behind only to find himself face to face with none other than Alaude. The Investigator had lost his bulletproof vest, his shirt was torn, had a makeshift bandage tied around a cut in his upper arm and there was ash and blood streaked on the infuriating bastard's face, but never in his life had Reborn ever felt so happy to see the Frenchman.

"You're late," he groaned as the man shoved him backwards into the ledge.

"You're useless," Alaude sneered. He plunged his arms into the fountain and pulled Tsuna out. The teen spluttered and coughed, eyes fluttering weakly as his hands reached towards Reborn. The three men tumbled out of the waters, dripping all over the cobblestones. Alaude's long silver sword was lying on the ground, and the light-haired man picked it up, unsheathing the weapon in a fluid, practiced movement.

"Herbivores, I am furious at the total lack of discipline and damage that has been inflicted upon my city," the man growled, radiating a deadly aura. "So you _will_ eliminate this demon with me and pay for your crimes."

"What about the other small demons?" Tsuna asked, leaning against Reborn.

"They're dead," Alaude smirked. "I killed them all."

Reborn and Tsuna sweatdropped simultaneously, shaking their heads at their bloodthirsty, violent ally. "Let's end this," the dark-haired hunter groaned, pocketing the coin and taking out his gun. "_Now_."

"I trust you've got a plan?" Alaude asked dryly. Reborn snorted irritably. "I think I've got enough brains to come up with something, moron."

"Could've fooled me," Alaude shrugged, making Reborn glower dangerously at the other. Tsuna interfered at once, wondering when the two would ever grow up and stop going at each other like a pack of wolves.

"Reborn! What's the strategy?"

The hunter pursed his lips. "There's nothing more we can do about its back, so we'll leave it as it is. The demon's movements are limited because of the injuries to its legs, so I'm going to lure it out into the open as much as I could. When I do so, Alaude, you'll advance and finish off what I was doing to its stomach, and I'm going to try and take out the heart. Tsuna, the moment I finish off the heart, you're going to pull off that head shot thing you can do with your hands. Do you all understand?"

The two others nodded; Tsuna bobbing his head up, Alaude inclining his ever so slightly. "Alright then," Reborn said, lifting the safety once more. "London is not going to fall on my watch."

"Che. Watch your head," Alaude shot at him, darting forward with unrivaled speed, smoothly dodging the wild swipes the demon made at him. Reborn watched with narrowed eyes, years of experience and knowledge keeping his arms steady as he waited for the opportune moment. If he fired the bullet too early, Alaude would be caught in the middle of the demon's pained flailing. The last thing they needed was for the Special Investigations Head to get knocked out. Tsuna waited behind the elder as well, watching for his signal.

Alaude leapt over the tail lying curled under the demon's foot and quickly located the handle of the Reborn's knife still embedded in the stomach. "Weak," the light-haired man smirked, yanking the dagger out effortlessly and flinging it aside. "This is how you make a cut!"

Raising his arms, Alaude brought his sword down, tearing through layers of skin and muscle before the blade ripped at the inner organs, ripping the delicate parts into shreds. The monster's eyes bulged, jerking, and Alaude's own pale blue orbs narrowed as he darted backwards. The demon's arms clawed at the man wildly with the Investigator weaving in and out between strikes as fast as he could. Reborn immediately adjusted his aim, pulled the trigger, and fired all six bullets into the demon's chest, where its already injured heart rested. It yowled, falling backwards as Alaude staggered away from the mess.

"Tsuna!" Reborn shouted, and the brunette did not have to be told twice. Running at full speed, the teen shot past the Investigator, past Byakuran on the floor, through debris and fire and ran up the front of the demon's ruined chest, feeling his legs sink into the mist-like body. Red eyes met orange and the pupils of the demon widened for the first time in fear as Tsuna neared, his gloved hands splayed open. Palms thrust outwards, smashing into the enemy's face and continued pushing, slicing through skull and brains like a knife through butter. The head caught fire and this time, truly burned at the intense heat generated by the movement of Tsuna's gloves. Twisting, screeching, and wilting, the king demon slowly scattered into particles, mist, and finally, vanishing into nothing at all. Tsuna dropped from the sky and landed with a thump on the floor, unharmed.

The war was over.

Reborn lowered his gun, letting out a breath he did not know he had been holding. Tsuna looked over, the orange slowly fading from his eyes as the gloves morphed back into mittens. Relief washed over the hunter when he saw the tired but shinning brown orbs meeting his own. Tsuna was alright. The king demon was obliterated. London was beaten, bent, and mutilated, but it was still standing. They had saved their city.

"Ah, damn," Reborn said softly, pushing his spikey hair back. Everything was alright now. They'd survived.

The sky was lightening now, not by the flames of the still-burning buildings, but with a pale, clear blue. For a moment, Reborn was confused, but then he realized that he was seeing the sky. The grey clouds that had hung over the city for six years had vanished, opening up a canopy of new light and hope. It had been a very long time since Reborn had seen the sky.

There was a sound behind him; the sound of metal falling to the ground, and he turned to see Alaude swaying slightly where he stood before falling face forwards into the ground. Reborn felt his breath freeze in his throat.

It was déjà vu all over again.

Tsuna rushed over to the Investigator's side the same time he did, and when Reborn carefully turned the man over, the teen screamed out loud, clapping his hands to his mouth in dismay. Reborn stared at the sight below him, unable to speak. Alaude's chest, torso, and neck had been slashed so viciously by the demon's claws that it was difficult to tell where the cuts started and ended. Blood was welling up in the wounds, but even as Reborn tore his vest off to press against them, he knew that it was hopeless.

Alaude was dying.

Tsuna whimpered weakly, shoulder slumping as he tried to help Reborn stem the blood flow, knowing as well that it wouldn't help at all. Alaude stirred, cracking open a blue-grey eye that contrasted greatly with all the crimson on his body.

"…herbivores…"

"Shut up," Reborn cut in at once. "Stop talking, you idiot."

Alaude actually rolled his eyes, but his body jerked weakly. He coughed, accidentally spitting blood onto Reborn's face. "Ah…sorry."

Reborn laughed at that, almost disbelievingly. "Do not tell me you are sorry," he said harshly. "I don't want to hear it…not from you. Keep your eyes open, Alaude!"

Eyelids fluttered in response. "…Byakuran…is he…?"

"He's alive," Tsuna said quickly, his hands shaking. "He's just unconscious."

Alaude exhaled, and blood began to pool onto the cobblestones. "Tell him…to live. He is…not a loser. Live in place…of Yamamoto…Takeshi."

"Tell him yourself, you damned bastard, don't go dropping tasks onto us like we're your puppets!" Reborn shouted, voice cracking. Everything was so surreal. He couldn't stand seeing the other like this. It was like a horrible punch to the face. The curse had struck one last time.

"Stop…shouting…loud…"

"Sorry," Tsuna whispered, rivulets of tears running down his face. "Sorry, Alaude."

Blue eyes darted over to either of the hunters, and the light-haired man made a noise in his throat. "Watch after…London…"

Reborn took a deep breath. "If that's what you want us to do, then _oui_. _Je promets_."

Alaude closed his eyes, and, barely above a whisper, but spoken out loud nonetheless, murmured quietly, "Hibari…" Then, he moved no more.

Tsuna sat back, wiping his eyes noisily, sniffling. Reborn sighed and looked down at his bloody hands. Two had died in this battle, but that was too many lives lost already. Standing, he walked over to the soiled waters of the fountain and washed the red off his hands. Then, he picked up Alaude's fallen sword and placed it by the man's side. Somewhere, lying under the ruins of the city hall was also Yamamoto's body. They would recover it somehow, and help Byakuran overcome his grief, and live on, like Alaude said. The white-haired man lay peacefully on the ground, head turned to one side, almost like he was resting in the post-war atmosphere.

Tsuna looked tiredly at the mess around him and sighed, asking softly, "What do we do now?"

Reborn paused, thinking his answer over. The little bit of wind that came by was soothing and light. It ruffled Tsuna's hair and blew the ashes of the dying fires away into the distance, clearing the battlefield of blackness. Up above them, the sun was starting to rise, illuminating the sky with its infinite amount of warmth. Walking over to his lover, Reborn extended his hand to the brunette, who took it and got to his feet. Wrapping his arms around the teen in a hug, Reborn allowed a moment of silence to consume them before answering simply:

"We start over again."

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><p><strong>Language Lessons 1.1:<strong>

Merda (Italian): Shit

Oui (French): Yes

Je promets (French): I promise

Wrack, this story turned out a lot shorter than I expected it to be! There will be one more chapter, and then it'll be then end. Kyaa, I can't believe I'm finished! This was too intense for me : I've never written a story like this before…damn. I know that there were a lot of deaths, but hey, it's a story. I hope it was interesting to read, at least :'D I also know that some of you guys were guessing that Byakuran would die and join Yamamoto in the 'afterlife', and to be honest, he was going to, but I wanted the ending to be similar to a 'rebuilding of life'. Byakuran's a tough guy, so I'm sure he'll be okay.

In any case, thank you so much for reading! I'm honoured to receive so many comments with such positive and encouraging feedback! I love you guys so much :'3 Thank you, once again! One more chapter to go, so hang tight, guys. Chu~

-BlackStar


	10. Chapter 10

Welcome to The Grimm Office

Here comes the end…the unavoidable, and the beginning of the next cycle. This is Chapter Ten!

I have no other words to say other than these: Thank you all for reading :'3

Random Song of the Day: How to Save a Life (The Fray)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Any similarities in events or characters living or dead are entirely coincidental.

Enjoy!

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><p>Chapter Ten<p>

_Life's a voyage that's homeward bound. (Herman Melville)_

-Two Weeks Later-

"That that freakish thing out of my arm!" Reborn shouted, reflexively launching a punch at the blue-haired man standing next to him.

"Reborn!" Mukuro shouted, one hand jerking up to clutch at his bleeding nose while the other held a long, dangerously pointy needle still poking into Reborn's upper limb. "What the hell, it's not in your arm, it's in my hand!"

"Get what's in your hand _out_ of my arm," the hunter threatened, the clenched fist doing his anger justice. Mukuro gulped, barely able to stand upright with blood gushing out of his nose. A raging Reborn was not a happy Reborn, and the risks of the needle point breaking off and getting stuck in the man's arm was reaching high levels.

Suddenly, a smaller male pushed his way into the fray and with a roll of his eyes, shoved Mukuro back, grabbed the needle from his grip and forced the plunger top down, injecting the clear fluid into Reborn's arm. The hunter snarled and twitched, but Tsuna had already pulled the needle out and tossed it into the trash bin.

"There, we're done," the teen ground out irritably. "Why are you acting like a six year old?"

"You try having a needle go through your arm by the hands of that self-proclaimed doctor!" Reborn snapped, yanking the sleeve of his button-up shirt back down over his forearm, not even bothering to grab a Band-Aid for the prick in the skin.

"I am perfectly qualified," Mukuro shot back, a wad of tissue stuck up his nose as he mixed something in a cup that hissed, frothed, and turned from a horrifying shade of cement grey to the colour of cat vomit. Tsuna paled as he watched the doctor chug down the contents, shudder, and smack his lips, tossing the mug beaker into the sink, where it joined a pile of dirty, week old dishes waiting to be washed. Mukuro stood still for a few moments, then cheerfully yanked the gob of bloody Kleenex out of his nostril and chuck it into the garbage, no longer bleeding profusely from the impact of Reborn's punch.

"Wow," Tsuna said, impressed. "That was awesome." Mukuro grinned.

"At least someone appreciates my work," he said pointedly, glancing at Reborn, who rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well, that's all I've got for the ailing hunter here. You can go, and take your stupid fear of needles with you."

Immediately, Reborn was up in the doctor's face, grabbing the front of his shirt. "I. Am. Not. Afraid. Of. _Needles_."

"Right, right, you're not, now let's go, Reborn," Tsuna said, appearing inbetween the two arguing males with a cheerful smile again. He grabbed Reborn's hand and yanked him towards the door, waving a goodbye to Mukuro. The blue-haired man smiled back, still unamused, but straightened out his shirt and fixed his glasses before calling after them, "I'll double the fee for this, Reborn!"

"Walk," Tsuna warned, prodding the dark-haired man's back when he showed signs of wanting to turn around and pummel Mukuro again. The two of them stumbled out of the backdoor of the abandoned factory, walking out into the mid-afternoon sun of a mild November day. The temperatures were in single digits only, but the rays beaming down compensated for the light chill. Reborn instinctively reached out and pulled Tsuna's small hand against his own, feeling the slim fingers tighten happily around his.

London had found new life. The city had been clear for about four days after the war so that all the cleaning could be finished. The buildings that had been demolished during the fight were still being rebuilt, but the city itself was in much better spirits. The previously dull, dreary and lifeless atmosphere had vanished to be replaced by a brighter, lighter and welcoming setting. The streets were bustling, new vendor stands were popping up everywhere, and laugher could be heard. The two lovers walked along the cobblestone path, weaving between other shoppers and travelers talking, joking, and going about their daily business. Luce's café was blooming with business, and the Cavallone printing press had plenty to say about the so-called toxic spill that had been used to cover up their battle against the demons.

There was only one place that did not share all the hub-dub and joy, but it was in a respectful way. After making a quick stop at Kawahira's bakery and the flower shop that had been one of the king demon's unfortunate victims, Reborn and Tsuna had finally finished their uphill walk and arrived at the tall, decorated gates of a cemetery. The Church resided a little ways down the hill, overlooking a cliff that hung above a wide, lush forest that spread on for as far as the eye could see. The graveyard was located at the highest point in the city, surrounded by a black, iron-wrought fence. The graves itself were old, many of them weathered away by the rain and wind the tall hill was accustomed to, but under a long-limbed, sprawling yew tree, two new gravestones, identical in colour and shape, marked the resting places of their lost friends.

Tsuna reached the graves first; untangling his bouquet of white lilies with Reborn's wrapped flowers and placing each one gently down on the earth in front of the stones. The late birds twittered their songs on the tree's branches before leaping into sky, flapping their wings, presumably going somewhere warmer until spring arrived.

"Hope you guys are resting peacefully," Tsuna said, closing his eyes and bowing his head. His heart felt heavy at the fact that two of their allies, friends, and comrades would never return, but as Reborn said, they had to move on. Rebuilding something from destruction always came after a war, be it the buildings they demolished to the gaping holes in their lives left by those who'd departed from the world.

"Are you kidding me? Alaude's probably turning in his grave seeing how crowded London's streets are nowadays," Reborn grumbled, crossing his arms. "He hates mobs."

"You have no sensitivity at all, Reborn," Tsuna sighed, giving the dark-haired man a dry look. Reborn huffed in annoyance, pulling his black scarf tighter around his neck and turned on his heel, calling over his shoulder, "Hurry up, this place gives me the chills."

Tsuna looked down and brushed a couple of leaves off one of the stones with his hand, feeling the cold rock under his palm and the smooth edges running under his fingers. Someday, the rain and snow and wind would beat down on those tombstones, chip away at the surface until it was rough and lumpy, but that day would be many years from now and when that time comes, Yamamoto and Alaude would surely be dust underneath all those layers of earth. Tsuna blinked, feeling the tears prickle his eyes. He felt terrible that Yamamoto had left Byakuran behind, and that Alaude had died alone. Byakuran had vanished from London the moment he had been discharged from the hospital. Tsuna had tried looking for him, but to no avail. Reborn had wisely told the brunette that the man probably just wanted to be alone. But then, why? Why did there have to be a war? If Yamamoto hadn't died, the future could have been so much more for the two men. Some things were just too hard to accept.

Suddenly, a shadow fell upon Tsuna and a long arm came around him from behind, wrapping around his waist in a firm, but warming hold. "Idiot," Reborn mumbled, burying his nose into the soft brown locks, "Don't cry for them. You just have to keep moving forwards and live on for their sakes."

"I know," Tsuna whispered, turning around and smiling blearily up at his boyfriend. "That's exactly what I'm going to start doing."

"Good," Reborn said lightly, leaning down to drop a small kiss on Tsuna's lips. "We should head back. There's still a lot to follow up on."

Tsuna nodded, blushing a shade of pink as he laced his fingers with Reborn's again, talking animatedly as they walked back down the hill. Neither men would probably ever be free of the burden of their friends' deaths, but at the most, they would have each other to rely on.

The office was thankfully free of badgering customers because of the recent turn of weather these past two weeks. The people of London were not accustomed to the sudden amount of sunshine and absence of fog after nearly six years of wet, soggy forecast. Most citizens were using much of their time to enjoy the scenery while it lasted rather than going to bother the hunters for charms or spells. When the weather lasted for much longer than the people had expected, everybody had gone all out, organizing outdoor parties, trips, picnics and events before the winter chill settled in. Given the sudden lack of business, Reborn and Tsuna were left with a lot of time on their hands.

The Grimm Office was changed for the better. The broken door in the front had been replaced with a much nicer one, made of polished wood with a smooth glass pane installed in the front. The lobby had been swept up, washed, and waxed. The floor sparkled and the old painting had been replaced with a giant scroll with Chinese calligraphy written on it. Reborn had found it stashed in the closet, but still hadn't told Tsuna where it came from. A couch was added to make waiting easier, the lonely light bulb had been changed, the stairs refurnished, and the office reorganized. Tsuna had moved the two desks back so that they faced the door instead of each other, artifacts had been mounted up on the wall and files all stacked away in the cabinets. On the updated bookshelf, Yamamoto's old name plate sat on the highest ledge.

The couple made their way upstairs after hanging their coats up in the closet downstairs, Tsuna going on about what he wanted to make for dinner and Reborn rummaging through the mail that had been deposited through the slot in their new door. Reborn's ruined home was still under construction, so he and Tsuna were currently staying at the office until all the renovations were done.

"We've had noodles for the past three days already, so I was thinking of making a soup and probably frying some potstickers," Tsuna said, thinking aloud to himself. "What do you think?"

"Sounds good," Reborn replied, flipping through the mail and tossing two irrelevant ads into the trash bin. There were two requests from a Mrs. Irknal regarding a goblin that was attacking her chickens and Mr. Brownstein, who wanted a traveling charm made for a daughter that was going to Spain for her studies. Those were dropped onto Tsuna's desk, seeing as the brunette handled stuff with the locals more than Reborn did. There was also a report that the police force wanted them to fill out, which the hunter was tempted to toss into the trash as well. There was a small "ahem" from somewhere in front of him, and Reborn looked up to see Tsuna standing with a hand on his hip, and amused look on his face.

"You weren't listening to what I was saying, were you," Tsuna asked.

"Sorry for trying to work, brat," Reborn shot back, but there was no menace in his words. Tsuna grinned, walking forwards. He pushed the letters out of Reborn's hands so that they scattered all over the table; there were two more letters regarding small-fry household spirits, one for taxes, and an bright red envelope with a single Chinese character stamped on the lower corner. Unseen by either of the hunters, a postcard from the countryside slipped off the desk and fluttered down into the dusty gap between the furnace and the wall. Written in the untidy scrawl of a farmer living a little distance out of London, it reported the sight of a white-haired, purple-eyed demon wandering through his pastures, its deadly aura wilting the farmer's crops as the monster passed through.

"You know what I'm thinking?" Tsuna asked, leaning into Reborn's chest. "We need a vacation."

The dark-haired man snickered, wrapping his arms around Tsuna and leaning down to kiss the brunette's neck. "To where?"

Tsuna squirmed a little, Reborn's hair tickling his face. "I was thinking…maybe Italy. It's been a while since I've been there. And you're Italian too, right? I hear it's nice during the winter."

"Italy…who knows?" Reborn mused, tracing circles on Tsuna's lower back. "It's been years since I've gone home…I'm not even sure if I can call it my home anymore."

"Home is where the heart is," Tsuna said firmly, poking Reborn in the chest. "So if you're happy, then that's where your home should be."

Reborn thought it over, tilting his head a little before a smirk wormed its way onto his face. Tightening his arms around Tsuna, he picked up the brunette, who made an "eep!" before setting him down on the desk, their lips brushing against each others' softly. "What if you're the one who makes me happy?"

Tsuna turned a magnificent shade of red, ducking his head down in embarrassment. "Then stay with me, Reborn. Forever."

"Forever's a long time," Reborn teased, placing a finger under Tsuna's chin and tilting the brunette's face up.

"Then you're gonna have to get used to my cooking," Tsuna shot back, smiling widely. Never before had Reborn's heart leapt with such emotion at the sight of another before, and as annoying as all the love bullshit was, something about Tsuna made it alright. The hunter leaned in, and Tsuna fell forwards, the two kissing again—

And then, Reborn saw the red envelope.

Dark eyes widened, and Reborn leapt for it at once, almost pulling Tsuna down with him. "Reborn!" Tsuna yelped, losing his balance. "What's the matter?"

Reborn did not answer right away. Instead, he stared at the envelope, which was thick and heavy in his hands. The paper was made of smooth material, soft to the touch, and in the bottom corner of the envelope, there was a character imprinted on it: 風.

"What is that?" Tsuna asked, staring at the envelope. "Reborn?"

"It's…from a friend of mine," Reborn replied, reaching into his boot to pull out his knife. He slit the envelope open and pulled out a sheet of parchment paper. It was soft and wrinkled, a bit weather worn and transparent, but written on the parchment were a series of Chinese characters inked on by a traditional brush, the graceful handwriting linking each word with the next. The signature at the bottom of the page was the same insignia as the one on the envelope. Tsuna didn't understand a word on the page, but Reborn scanned it once, twice, and apparently figuring out what was written, cursed and folded it up again.

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked at once, grabbing Reborn's arm.

"It's…complicated. This message is from my friend, Fon. Something's happened."

"Fon? Is he a demon hunter too?" Tsuna inquired, his eyes wide.

"Yes. He fights using a rare form of martial arts. He followed the same master as I did, along with several others."

"A Master?" Tsuna asked, his brain swirling with information. Reborn tucked the letter into his jacket, nodding.

"Yes, a Master. I took some of my training where Fon resides now."

"Where's that?"

"China," Reborn answered. "Tsuna…I know this is rushed, but there's apparently something's gone wrong in the East. If Fon felt the need to send me a letter for help, then I think it's safe to say that there's trouble brewing over there."

The brunette paused, and then he stood up and stretched, grinning. "Well, I think a trip to China sounds nice."

Reborn's eyebrows went up in surprise. "I thought you wanted to go to Italy?"

Tsuna pouted. "If you're not going, then I'll be bored as hell. Besides, judging by the way things sound, you might need an extra hand or two." The brunette reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his mittens, flashing Reborn a cheeky grin. The elder hunter shook his head in amusement.

"Looks like I'm really stuck with you forever."

"And you know you won't have it any other way," Tsuna replied smoothly.

Reborn only responded with a quick kiss, teasing Tsuna's tongue for a bit before pulling back, looking around the office. "Looks like we're going to have to take a break from London. Bet the people aren't going to miss us." Tsuna took a look at the piles of messages and requests on their desks and rolled his eyes in good humor.

"Yup. I think it'll be a peaceful getaway."

The reminder of the day resulted in a bit of hassled packing, last minute shopping, buying two one-way tickets for the next train out of London and scrawling a quick message on a piece of paper. When Reborn and Tsuna finally left the office in the late afternoon for their ride, the brunette slapped the notice over the door before linking his hand through Reborn's with a smile and heading down the wide, bustling cobblestone street for the station.

Currently stuck on the door of the Grimm Office were the words: Closed for vacation; be back soon.

The glowing rays of the evening sun illuminated the rooftops and reflected off the windows, casting a warm, orange light over the citizens of London. Though the quiet city was still rebuilding itself from a dark age, it was full of life and spirit at this time of the year. Even though it was still too early for anybody to be interested in the holiday cheer, the sudden change in the weather seemed to have raised everyone's spirits. The sky was clear of clouds and the atmosphere was lively. Tucked away in the alleyway behind the exquisite Victorian-style bakery and the printing office was a door; newly put in, leading up to the most peculiar and enigmatic business anyone has known. The sign hanging above the doorway in faded yellow words read simply: _The Grimm Office_.

Who will be their next customers?

Only time will tell.

* * *

><p><em>End<em>

* * *

><p>Note: 風 means <em>wind<em> in Chinese, which is what Fon's name means.

Aaaaaand we're done! :'D Some of your reviews put the thought of a sequel to this in my head, and I can't really get it out. I've never tried that before, so I deliberately left the ending a little open so if I wanted to, I could work on something from there.

I honestly love the plot for this story. I think it's one of my better ideas, and I've had a lot of scrap ones that make my cry every time I look at them because it's so awkward, ha ha.

In any case: thank you so much for reading! It's been so much fun writing the Grimm Office for me, and I hoped you enjoyed reading it as well. I supposed I'll see you guys around when the time comes. :3

Until then!

-BlackStar42Roses


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